Bleach 1. Chapter 1

Hmmm, okay. I'm not sure if I'll ever post this.

Anyone reading this: If you're not me, then don't read the following. Skip it; this is pretty much to myself. Okay, DB84, weather you decide to take on this project or not is up to you. I only want to remind your…er myself…that your currently already working on something, so you should probably finish that first. Just FYI.

End of message

Okay, so this is my first Bleach fanfic attempt…yeah, nothing else. Don't flame me. If your DB84, go ahead and flame me…I mean yourself.

Chapter 1

Anyone who hates school, please raise your hand! You! Put your hand up!

BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP! WHACK!

That was the noise that Kuroda Ryou woke up to every, single, day. He really didn't know why the hell he didn't replace that old alarm clock. With a loud groan he pushed his face out of his pillow, and rolled on out of bed. He then sluggishly walked over to the bathroom, flicked on the light, and turned on the faucet. He cupped his hands and splashed some cool water over his face, letting the sudden shock of cold wake him up.

Kuroda had the face of a 25 year old man, however, he still went to a high school. Whenever someone would ask why he went to a human high school, he would simply say, "I want to keep up with the times."

He remembered one time when he hadn't come up to date, and accidently asked what evolution was, about six months after it was introduced to the world. That was a bad memory, as recalled, it ended with five police officers unconscious and a man with a bloody nose.

Kuroda splashed another handful of water onto his black hair, pushing a few wayward strands out of his face. His hair was uniformly long enough to go down past his ears, but remained slightly spikey.

After taking a shower and getting dressed, he went into this kitchen to make breakfast. As he turned on the stove, his eyes drifted over to a picture he always kept hanging from the fridge. In the picture, was three young teenagers, two boys and a single girl. The boy on the right had bright blond hair and a disarming smile, as well as a few freckles spread on his face. The girl in the middle had a large smile, large yet yellow slanted eyes, dark skin, and lovely purple hair. The boy on the left had black hair, a blank face, and dark red eyes. His face seemed to scream, "I don't want to be here."

Despite the boy's gloomy disposition, the girl had her arms wrapped around both boys' necks and pulled them into a sort of group hug. The boy with blond hair held up a peace sign, it was cheesy but it summed up the situation pretty well.

"Yoruichi ," whispered Kuroda, eventually the sound of sizzling oil broke his attention from the picture. After eating his breakfast and packing his school bag, he left his apartment and headed down the hall to the elevator.

His life was pretty boring to be honest, nothing exciting ever happened, and most the people in his school were a bunch of complete and total idiots, save for a few such as Ichigo Kurosaki and Chad.

He soon made his way down to the bottom floor and started his walk down to school. It was a relatively sunny day with few clouds, it was rather late into the first semester and he had nothing to worry about school wise.

Truthfully most of the stuff taught was stuff he already knew, of course he purposefully got one or two thing wrong to prevent himself from looking too smart. Otherwise people started asking questions and then he would have to move to another region entirely.

As he continued his walk, he noticed a man walking by. No, walking wasn't the right word, more like floating, just a foot of the street. It was a middle aged man, yellow dress shirt and tie, large glasses and a small moustache.

The man floated in front of Kuroda and started making faces, obviously not realizing that Kuroda could see him. Kuroda merely ignored the floating spirit, let him have his fun, he was dead as it was.

Suddenly, a series of loud sounds behind him shook the ground, the very earth itself seemed to be bouncing up and down. The spirit in front of him was suddenly terrified, if he still had organs Kuroda had no doubt the spirit would have pissed himself.

"What now?" he muttered, turning around to face the newcomer,

Just behind him was a huge humanoid figure. It was at least three stories tall, very muscular, and had a rough gray hide, much like a rhino. It's face was covered by a bone white mask, vaguely similar to a lizards face, in fact the thing even had a long reptile like tail.

"Oh jeez, another one of you, this place has been quite up until now. Did someone put up a vacation sign for you Hollows or something?" he asked out loud,

The large hollow turned to Kuroda, its tongue flicked out of its mouth repeatedly.

"Hmm, it seems I've found a particularly delicious soul today!" it announced slyly, "I haven't had the chance to eat a Soul Reaper for quite some time now."

"Why aren't they ever around when you need them," wondered Kuroda out loud, "and I'm not a Soul Reaper!"

"Don't lie to me puny soul! You practically reek with the stench of a Soul Reaper!" shouted the Hollow,

Kuroda sighed, behind him the soul was screaming and crying like a newborn baby.

The giant reptile Hollow suddenly lunged at him, with admittedly surprising speed for a creature of his size. Kuroda showed no fear as he stretched out his hand and lifted two fingers.

The Hollow was stopped right in its tracks as it collided with Kuroda's fingers

"W-what?" stuttered the Hollow, completely stunned that such a small figure stopped it's massive fists.

There was a small burst of red light, a moment later, the hollow fell to pieces.

"How boring, nothing exciting ever comes my way," he muttered as he turned back to the spirit behind him.

"Hey!" the spirit snapped out of it's trance,

"Scram! Get out of here!"

"Yes sirrrrrrrrrr!" it screamed as it floated away,

With that, Kuroda continued on to school. To him, nothing particularly out of the ordinary had happened so far.

At school everything was pretty much the same as well. He had just gotten into the class room and already the drama was starting to act up.

Keigo was bragging about how he must have done average on the test two days again while Ichigo sat in his chair with a very annoyed look, and Chad…well Chad kind of just stood there.

"I'm sure you guys probably didn't betray me and get really good scores on the test, right guys?"

"Yeah, whatever Keigo," muttered Ichigo, his eyebrows as furrowed as ever.

"HUH?DON'T TELL ME YOU THINK YOU ACTUALLY DID WELL!"

"Oh shut up Keigo, I study like normal people," Ichigo shot back,

"Ah! So Mr. I Don't Have Time does have time!" concluded Keigo.

"What's Keigo blabbering about now?" asked Kuroda as he finally stepped in,

"Oh, hey Kuroda, just about the test," replied Ichigo,

"Well at least I know you wouldn't score high, right Kuroda, my good pal!" said Keigo cheerily,

Kuroda just gave him a blank stare, one that all his class mates had dubbed, The Devils Eyes. Keigo immediately found himself in a bad position, and without a word, slowly backed up.

"Harsh dude," commented Ichigo,

Kuroda gave him the Devil's eyes too, as expected, Ichigo could only respond with a nervous laugh and smile.

Suddenly another spirit popped down from the ceiling, this time it was a small girl with pigtails and a pink dress. She giggled as she floated around the students that were completely oblivious to her presence.

"AH, jeez, another one!" muttered Ichigo,

"Hey, at least this time it's not some old man," commented Kuroda,

"What are you two talking about?" asked Keigo,

"Nothing," the two said at the same time,

"WAH! YOU GUYS ARE IN SYNCH!" cried a horrified Keigo,

"Well, could something be going on between you," he said, rubbing is chin thoughtfully and pressing his face very near to Ichigo.

"Keep your thoughts to yourself," said Ichigo as he punched Keigo in the face. The poor guy found himself rolling on the floor, holding his face in pain. No one really bothered to help him.

"Hey, what's up with Keigo?" asked a new voice, Kuroda turned to see Tatsuki, along with Orihime.

"Oh, hey Tatsuki. Nothing really, Keigo was just being his idiot self again," replied Ichigo, after which Keigo let out another scream of pain.

"Will someone please shut him up," asked Kuroda calmly,

Just then, the teacher decided to show up.

"Alright class, please everyone take your seats. Keigo, I don't know what you're doing but it can wait. Please get off the floor."

Class was boring as usual. Everything the teacher taught, he already knew how to do, he even noticed that she got one or two of them wrong, but he kept his mouth shut. As the teacher announced something, Kuroda began feeling a small, prickly sensation on his neck. He ignored it at first, but it seemed to grow stronger and stronger, it soon reached down his entire back.

His eyes instinctively turned to the windows. He immediately saw a black cat, with large yellow eyes. It seemed to be staring right back at him. His eyes widened at the realization of the possibility.

'It couldn't be, HER, could it?'

Before he could give it another thought, the cat walked away along the window sill, out of his gaze.

"Anyway class, here are your tests." Said the Teacher, who began distributing them back.

"99/100" was what Kuroda got, but he hardly cared. He was absolutely sure that that cat had been an old friend, but what would she be doing back here?

The rest of the school day went by rather quickly, everything was pretty much still the same. But Kuroda still could shake the feeling that the cat had given him.

At the end of the day, he was approached by Chad.

"Hey Chad, what's up?"

"Are you alright? You seemed rather tense in class earlier," said the giant,

"Yeah man, I'm fine."

"You sure? I can help out if you need,"

"No thanks, this is sort of a personal matter," replied Kuroda

"If anyone can tell me in this town, it's this guy," though Kuroda as he walked towards his destination. Clouds began to gather overhead, there could be a storm later, he thought to himself, as he walked, he noticed he was passing by the park. Sneaking a quick peak at the playground, he noticed a trio of kids, happily sitting on a bench eating their lunch.

It reminded Kuroda of a time when things had been much simpler.

_Flash back_

_Kisuke and Yoruichi sat silently in their own private hideout, happily enjoying their lunch. _

"_This is nice isn't it?" asked Kisuke, "to just lie back for a while and forget our troubles."_

"_Sure is," responded Yoruichi, "after a long day of training, it feels great to just relax."_

_Yoruichi was just about to take another bite of her onigiri when suddenly a large explosion went off not too far from them._

"_What was that?" asked a surprised Yoruichi,_

"_Probably just Kuroda," said Kisuke calmly. Sure enough, on a hill just in front of them, Kuroda appeared, zanpaktou in hand._

"_Hey Kuroda!" yelled Yoruichi,_

"_Huh?" he said, only to see a rock flying straight for him, which he promptly dodged._

"_What are you doing?" she shouted, "look what you've done!"_

"_Huh?"_

_Yoruichi held up her onigiri for all to see._

"_LOOK! You've gotten dirt all over my food!"_

"_Uh oh," he said before jumping down to confront her, "my deepest apologies Yoruichi, I was simply training in the use of my kido techniques and-"_

"_Jeez, all you ever do is train!" she yelled, rudely interrupting him, "it's always work work work! Why don't you ever just take it easy for once?"_

"_Um, I don't know?" he responded nervously,_

"_You should sit down with us," suggested Kisuke, "it'll help you relax. It's said that if you get no rest, your performance will suffer."_

"_But…I'm dead."_

"_So? Just kick back for a while," insisted Kisuke,_

"_I don't know," muttered Kuroda,_

"_Come on, please?" pleaded Yoruichi,_

"_Uh…well, okay," he finally said, before adding, "but I'm going straight back to training after this!"_

"_Ugh! How did you ever become so uptight?" asked Yoruichi, _

"_But I this is better than nothing, right Kuroda?" she said putting her hand on his shoulder and giving him a wink._

"_Uh, sure," he responded,_

_Kisuke noticed a small amount of pink on Kuroda's cheeks, a small smile found its way on to his face._

_End of Flash back_

By now Kuroda had finally reached his destination, Kisuke Urahara's shop. Just outside, was a boy with fire red hair and a little girl that almost looked like a doll.

"Hey Jinta, Ururu," he said, as expected, Jinta was as rude as ever.

"Hey its , good to see you emo," responded the by,

"G-good to see you," Ururu shyly replied,

"Is Kisuke here?" he asked,

"Sure is," said Jinta, "just follow the sound of a person eating."

"Thank," he said as he pushed open the door and walked inside,

"Hello sir," said Tessai, who was cleaning up the inside of the store,

"Hey, just here to see the boss," replied Kuroda, who soon found out why Jinta had recommended to follow the sound of eating. Echoing through the halls was the sound of slurping , chewing, and tearing. That was probably Kisuke.

Kuroda found his old friend in the dining room, slurping up a large bowl of noodles and chowing down on BBQ short ribs. He made absolutely no attempt to use manners as he guzzled down the food like it was his last meal.

"Hey Kuroda! How's it going?" said the store manager with a full mouth.

"You disgust me," growled Kuroda as he continued to watch the man eat,

"Come on! No one's around! There's no need for manners!" explained Kisuke with a mouth full of meat,

"You better start closing your mouth, or I'm punching you right in the stomach," said Kuroda calmly,

"Sure, sure," said Kisuke, finally taking the time to close his mouth as he ate. After swallowing his food, Kisuke finally asked, "So, what brings you to my humble abode?"

"I wanted to ask you-"

"If I've had any word from Yoruichi?" interrupted Kisuke,

Kuroda paused for a brief moment, before finally saying, "Yeah."

"Humph, ever since she left, you've been coming to me every week to ask if I'd had word from her, and every time I'd give you the same answer. Well, the answer is still the same, I've had none."

"I see," said Kuroda, disappointment evident in his voice, "strange, just today I saw a black cat on my school's window sill. I was sure that it was Yoruichi."

"Hey, don't let it bother you. We'll see her again, I'm sure of it," said Kisuke comfortingly, "by the way, why do you always ask me if I've had any word. You could just wait for her yourself."

"We both know that if she does come back, you're the first one she'll go to. Me and her…we were probably acquaintances at best," he said solemnly,

"Oh come on, you guys were great friends!" said Kisuke trying to assure him. Kuroda gave him a skeptical look. "Think what you will, but I know how you two felt for each other."

Kuroda blushed slightly, he turned his face to the floor in a vain attempt to hide it.

"Whatever I might have felt for her…was relatively one sided," he said coldly, "I'm sure she'd prefer someone less…"

"Cold?"

"Exactly,"

"Well, in any case, I'll be sure to tell you if I do come in contact with her. I'm sure she'd love to see you again."

"I doubt it," replied Kuroda as he stood up.

"It was good to see you again Kuroda," mentioned Kisuke,

"Yeah,"

"And hey, I might need your help later. I've got the feeling that something big is about to happen."

"Sure, you know how to contact me."

Kuroda shut the door as he left, his thoughts returning to their gloomy demeanor.

"Have a nice day," said Tessai as Kuroda walked through the front door,

Outside Jinta was giving Ururu a bad hair day, Kuroda picked up a broom and smacked him on the head with it.

"OW! What was that for!" yelled Jinta as he rubbed his now sore head,

"Be nice to girls," was all he said before moving on,

As he left, Jinta stuck his tongue out at Kuroda, only to have the broom smack him in the face.

"And get some manners,"

The rest of the day went by as fairly normal, Kuroda didn't see the black cat and he didn't feel any especially powerful Spiritual pressures. It seemed he would go back to living his boring life.

As he lie in bed that night, he couldn't help but remember Kisuke's words, something big was about to happen. Unconsciously he reached up and touched his zanpaktou, which he had hanging just above him on the wall.

"What do you think AnShen?"

"I think you care too much for that woman," it responded, Kuroda turned to his right, to see his Zanpaktou spirit standing at the window.

"You think so?"

"Yeah," it replied, or rather, he.

Unlike most other Zanpaktou spirits, Kuroda and AnShen had developed a bond strong enough that the spirit could manifest itself into a visible form for his partner to see.

AnShen manifested himself in a most mysterious form. He appeared as a very tall man, just as tall as Chad if not taller. He wore a dark red trench coat, highly akin to the color of blood, the back had a set of elaborate patterns that added to it's mystery. AnShen also wore a wide rimmed fedora that he usually kept tipped down to conceal his face.

From the back one would see only a human, but if you were to turn him around, you would see that there was no face. Or rather, you couldn't see his face. AnShen's face was a mask of darkness, you could vaguely make out the shape of a face, but you couldn't make out and details.

It all did very much to create a dark, mysterious character that was AnShen.

"But," AnShen continued, "I miss her too. Her presence was a large relief when you have turtle for a master."

"I'm not a turtle," said Kuroda objectingly,

"Do turtle's make noise?"

"No."

"Then you're a turtle."

"Whatever," said Kuroda as he rolled in bed.

"Hey, are you jealous of Kisuke?"

"WHAT!" he shouted in utter surprise and anger,

"Well, it seems logical that-"

"NO I'm not jealous! That guy's a total slacker! It's amazing he even became a Captain to begin with!"

"Alright, jeez, just asking."

"Besides, who Yoruichi eventually goes-"

Kuroda suddenly stopped in mid-sentence, a strange feeling shot up his spine. He only got that feeling when a soul reaper was near.

"Do you feel that?" asked AnShen,

"Yeah, but it's not close. It's at least 30 miles away. In fact… it's right where Ichigo lives."

"Do you think we should go check it out?" asked the spirit,

"Nah, I'll leave it for morning and see what happens."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach in any way possible. I wish I did, but I don't.

Listen, to whoever reads this. That means you, sitting at your computer. I need you to tell me how I'm doing at writing this Bleach story, even if I'm not going to write the whole thing just yet, because this is a sample, I still need to know if I'm headed in the right direction.

If you haven't read my AVP story, then you probably don't know who I am or what the above paragraph even ment. If this is so, go check out my account, or my story. Either is fine.

Chapter 2

Beginning

The next day as Kuroda headed off to school, he felt a strange sensation building in his stomach. He wasn't sure what it was, but it had been a long time since he'd felt it. He was, happy? No, that wasn't the right word. Excited, yes, that was the right word. It had been a long time since anything really happened around here; his life had been utterly dreary, until today.

Ichigo was his friend and Kuroda knew him like he knew his own apartment. Ichigo had always displayed unusual amount of spiritual energy for a human, being able to see both spirits and Hollows. But according to his senses, Ichigo's spiritual power had just shot up exponentially, like he'd made a withdrawal from some spirit bank.

According to everyone at school, Ichigo's house had been hit by a truck. He didn't buy it, something had definitely hit Ichigo's house, but he'd sooner believe that pigs could grow wings then a truck hit Ichigo's house. What would a truck even be doing in a residential district?

"Oh no that's alright, I uh, I have volley ball, that's right volley ball," said a female voice,

A second later, Orihime came skipping down the hall.

"Hi Kuroda," she said before looking at his face. A moment later, she switched directions and went down a different hall.

"What's with her?"

"Probably same thing that had to do with me,"

Kuroda turned to see Ichigo walking down the hall towards him.

"Hey Ichigo, what do you mean, same as you?"

"According to Tatsuki, we both have the scariest faces in the school,"

"That so? I don't think we're that scary," he replied,

"Yeah well, people will think whatever they think right?"

"I guess, you know you're pretty late today," commented Kuroda as they walked down to class.

"Yeah, I'll tell you about it after class okay? By the way, what's with the guitar case?"

"Huh? Oh, I've uh…got practice later," he lied. Kuroda did indeed have a guitar case on his back, but it didn't just carry a guitar. It also carried AnShen; he couldn't come to school carrying a katana, so this was a covert way to do things.

But he did know how to play the guitar.

**After class**

"Hey Ichigo, I heard a truck crashed into your house last night dude!" said Keigo

"Pretty much,"

"So, did you clean it all up yet?" asked Mizuiro,

"What are you kidding? It's gonna take forever to clean all of that up."

"Need some help?" asked Chad, in his usual monotone voice

"That's, okay," Ichigo responded nervously,

"Yeah Chad, you might bring the whole house down," commented Keigo,

"Actually I think Chad could be a pretty big help for you Ichigo," said Kuroda, he was about to continue when he suddenly felt a spike in spiritual energy nearby.

"Hello, your Ichigo aren't you," said a new voice,

Kuroda turned to see a small almost skinny girl come up to the group. She had almost shoulder length dark hair, with a small amount of it draping in front of her face, and dark eyes along with an angular face. She looked all too familiar, a small vein of ice crept up his spine.

"I'll be sitting next to you from now on," she said innocently, "my name is Rukia."

'Rukia Kuchiki,' was all he could think, the adopted member of the Kuchiki family.

'What's she doing here?' he wondered, Ichigo definitely knew her, so she definitely had some relation to what happened at his house last night. But something was off, the Rukia he remembered was not this good at masking her Spiritual powers, hell he should be able to have sensed it a mile from here, but he only picked it up recently.

"You two know each other?" asked Chad,

"Course not, we've never met before, isn't that right Ichigo?" she said innocently

'That is definitely not her voice,' he thought to himself.

"Rukia is a brand new transfer student," said Mizuiro,

'I haven't heard of that, she must have used some sort of memory alter,' he thought to himself

"It's a pleasure," she said, extending out her hand. Ichigo shook it like he had no choice in the matter.

The teacher soon came in and they started class, he would have to admit, she did well in playing the new transfer student. He also noticed that Ichigo didn't stop watching her. No doubt about it, there was definitely something going on. He'd have to keep an eye on them.

After class was done, people practically crowded around her, asking her questions like "where do you live?" "Are you in a relationship?" etc.

Keigo especially wanted to introduce himself to the "hot new transfer student".

The entire time Rukia acted like some innocent little girl who hadn't a care in the world. Kuroda sat at his desk and pretended to be work on something.

"And what about him," he heard her ask, "what's his name, jeepers he looks awfully scary!"

'Jeepers!' he thought.

"That's Kuroda Ryou," said Keigo,

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of recognition cross Rukia's face.

"This is not turning out good," he whispered to himself as he sat up from his desk.

After school was over, Kuroda tracked Ichigo and Rukia to the back of the school, making sure that he stayed out of sight and hid his spiritual power as best he could.

Apparently the two of them were having some sort of fight. From what he could hear it was about Ichigo being a soul reaper, it seemed that Rukia had lent Ichigo her soul reaper powers in order to save his family.

"That's defiantly like Ichigo," he muttered, "headstrong and out to protect his family."

He turned his attention back to Ichigo and Rukia, only to discover Ichigo's body lying on the ground and Rukia now where to be seen.

"Uh…did she kill him?" he asked aloud,

A moment later he saw them walking towards the park, with Ichigo dressed in a black kimono and a huge sword strapped to his back. Kuroda smiled.

"A substitute soul reaper, huh? Ichigo, what have you gotten yourself into?"

As it turned out, they really did head to the park. There they found a large spider looking hollow attacking the spirit of a boy that died at the playground. That must have been a very dangerous playground.

The boy screamed as the hollow chased him around. Kuroda had hidden himself in a tree and decided to watch what Ichigo would do, if needed; he would jump in to intervene.

But it soon seemed that there would be no need for his help. The boy had just tripped; the Hollow was right above him. It raised one of its spider like legs, ready to pierce the boy's spirit.

Kuroda grasped AnShen's hilt.

At the last minute Ichigo rushed forward and sliced off the hollow's leg with a single strike, then followed up with cutting off another. The hollow screeched and fell on to its back in pain, then suddenly disappeared.

Kuroda let go of a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

The hollow reappeared in the sand box and charged Ichigo when his back was turned.

"Uh oh," but once again, he found his fears misplaced. Ichigo swiftly stabbed the hollow through the mask; the hollow collapsed and completely disappeared from existence. But the icing on the cake was when Ichigo performed a soul burial.

"Very impressive Ichigo," he said to himself, "two days on the job, and your already doing well."

He watched as Ichigo stomped off by himself, probably to go home or something.

"I think I'll let this play out for a while, see where it goes in the end. Perhaps things won't be as boring anymore."

He would soon learn how true his words would be.

As he walked back home, he noticed another spike in spiritual pressure, it seemed that hollows were on the move. Ichigo would probably deal with them soon.

A hollow, a manta ray looking one, flew overhead probably looking for a soul to eat.

"Hado 31: Red Fire Cannon", he held up his hand and fired off a red ball of energy, it tore into the hollow and completely destroyed it.

"Better pick up the slack Ichigo," he said as he moved on, he had only taken one step, before the hollows noticed him. At least a dozen of them appeared at his position, all hungrily eyeing him as if he were the largest steak in New York.

"Him, he's a soul reaper," said one, "I can smell it in his flesh!"

"I hear soul reapers are good eating!"

"Let's see how it tastes!"

"I call the heart!"

"Well, I guess it can't be helped," he said to himself. He dropped his guitar case, then pushed himself out of his gigai. Taking a moment he stretched his arms out and looked down at his own body.

"Ugh, I'm still not used to that," he said,

Calmly, he opened up his guitar case and picked up AnShen, he savored the sound of once again hearing its blade released from the scabbard.

As if on cue, the hollows all charged him together. Their claws, teeth and weapons all ready to tear him to ribbons, but he showed no fear, not even a small squint of the eyes. Just as the hollows were upon him, he disappeared.

The hollows came crashing down, empty handed and confused. They heard a whistle, and turned to see Kuroda squatting peacefully on top of a lamp post, but now he stood as a soul reaper, or sort of like one.

Kuroda had long since abandoned the uniform that all soul reapers wore, as he was no longer part of that organization. No, he along with his friends had turned their backs on that place.

But because of his love of the color black, he'd kept the color scheme. He now wore a kimono like shirt, with an outline of red, but wore what looked like a modern pair of trousers and a long tattered cloak over his shoulders. In his hand, the blade of AnShen gleamed magnificently.

"Let see if you can keep up," taunted Kuroda, and though he was truly excited, his demeanor remained calm.

Using his flash step, Kuroda positioned himself in the very middle of the group, then swung out in a wide arc. Four of the hollows died immediately, one of the remaining retained enough sense to try and attack. When he did, Kuroda disappeared again, reappearing behind the hollow then plunging AnShen down into its back.

"Five down, seven to go," he growled. Disappearing again, he dashed towards the closest hollow and cut out its stomach. Jumping up in the air he brought down his sword on its head and split it completely in half. The rest of the hollows eagerly rushed to their own deaths, he gutted them all.

"Not very exciting," he muttered as he put his gigai back on.

He continued his walk, and decided he should stop by Kisuke's shop. As usual, Jinta and Ururu were clean the front porch, Tessai was manning the counter and Kisuke…well, he was sleeping.

By the time Kuroda found the shop keeper, the man was fast asleep and snoring very loudly.

Though he told himself that he'd take no pleasure in it, Kuroda found himself just a bit giddy when he started to pinch Kisuke's nose.

The shop keeper immediately reacted by producing a gagging sound and suddenly flailing around his arms. Finally, the man opened his eyes and sprang up.

"Ugh! Air! I need air!" he screamed,

"Your performance is to say the least, highly disgraceful," muttered Kuroda.

"Oh come on, I was just sleeping. You need to lay back for once Kuroda, all you ever go on about is working hard, being respectful, and quite frankly being a square who doesn't know how to have fun! You really ought to-"

"Shut up," growled Kuroda as he punched his friend in the face,

"Ow!" whined Kisuke,

"Why do you always do that? I'm your friend, you're not supposed to punch me in the face," he complained as he held his now bloody nose.

"If you didn't act so lazy all the time I might not have to. Old man Yamato isn't around to keep you in line anymore, which means I have to do it," explained Kuroda,

"Ugh, but you don't have to be so harsh, a simple friendly reminder would be fine," suggested Kisuke,

WHACK! Kuroda slapped the man on the side of the head.

"Ow! That's not much better!"

"Get over it."

"Ugh, anyway, I was thinking of having rice today for dinner, I had noodles yesterday so I wanna try something differe-"

"Kisuke," interrupted Kuroda before his friend could go on another joyful ran about his life.

"Huh?"

"I need to ask you something."

"Hm, now that I think about it, this is the first time you've visited two days in a row. Something happen?"

"uh, no, nothing out of the ordinary," he replied, "I just came to ask a simple question."

"What I'm having for dinner?"

"No."

"Is it if my Benihime is doing well?"

"No!"

"Is it if I could give you a new gigai?"

"NO!"

"Is it about Yoruichi?"

"NO! I mean yes!"

"I haven't heard from her,"

"That's not what I was going to ask," said Kuroda, "I was going to ask about, you and her."

"Huh? What about me and her?"

"Were you two…ever…ya know…"

"were we ever what?"

Kuroda could feel his face heating up, it was probably turning red as he spoke. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

"Wereyoutwoevertogether?"

"Excuse me?"

"Were you two ever together?"

"Together in a place, sure was, about most of the time that I talked to her and-"

"Damn you Kisuke! You know exactly what I mean!" he shouted,

Kisuke immediately quieted himself down. Most people could never truly tell when Kuroda was truly angry. Most of the time the angry he showed was simply annoyance or because he cared, over the years they'd known each other, Kisuke had eventually learned to tell when his friend was truly pissed. Right now, in his shop, his friend was definitely pissed.

"I'm sorry," said Kuroda, taking in a deep breath, "lost my cool for a moment."

"Don't worry; it happens to everyone, even you," assured Kisuke, "to answer your original question, no."

"Oh, I see, well, I just wanted to know," explained Kuroda, "she was always with you, when we were kids. I assumed you two eventually started something."

"Nope, we were just good friends. Besides, she might have always been with me, but she was always thinking about you."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, nothing."

"No, it was definitely something," Kuroda said as calmly as he could.

"Sorry, I'm not telling. It would ruin the show to soon," explained Kisuke,

"My life isn't a TV show Kisuke," his voice rising,

"I know. It's better!"

"You're annoying,"

"And yet, I'm your best friend."

Kuroda let out a snort before getting up off the floor and walking out,

"Oh, Kisuke," he said, stopping just midway through the door, "you were right, big things are about to happen."

Kuroda found himself deep in thought as he left the store, what Kisuke had said had shaken him to his very core. He didn't like this feeling, being surprised all of a sudden. It made him feel vulnerable and most importantly, it distracted him.

Part of him didn't even know why he asked Kisuke such a weird question. Did it really matter if Yoruichi and Kisuke had been in a relationship? He didn't crave anything like that, he'd never felt the urge to engage anyone in a relationship.

"Damn you Kisuke," he growled, so deep in his thoughts was he, that he didn't even notice Jinta lighting a fire cracker with the words, "experimental" written on it.

"Jinta, I don't know if we should be doing this," said Ururu

"Quite being such a baby and cover your ears," shouted Jinta just as the fire cracker exploded, though not in a good way. As the dust cleared, it revealed a large crater in the ground along with a very blackened Jinta and Ururu.

After dusting himself off, Kuroda resumed his walk back to his apartment. The doorman greeted him as usual, the lobby was full of people today, probably some sort of corporate meeting that was going on in one of the event halls.

He rode the elevator up to his floor, the 11th and walked down to his room. He took out his keys and was just about to put them in to open the door, when someone spoke up.

"Hey Kuroda, it's certainly been a while."

Kuroda immediately swung around to see the same black cat as the one he had originally seen on the window sill at school.

"Y-Yoruichi?" he asked, completely unbelieving that after all this time she had finally arrived.

"Naturally," the cat responded, "what's the matter, can't believe your eyes can you?"

Kuroda didn't respond, he was too surprised and had too many thoughts rushing around his head. She was actually here! After all this time, he finally got to see her again.

So what does that mean to you?

That thought sent a jolt of lightning down his spine and woke him up from his trance. What did that mean to him? She was his friend, sure, and he hadn't seen her in a long time, so it was understandable that he was surprised to see her now. But he felt, more than happy he felt…

"What's the matter?" asked Yoruichi,

"Uh, nothing," he finally said, though still trying to come to terms with the situation.

"We should probably go inside, you look strange talking to a cat," she said,

"Uh, right, of course," he said and turned to open the door, but he soon found out he couldn't, his hand was shaking too much for him to put the key into the hole.

"What's the matter?" asked Yoruichi, though this time, her voice was no longer the one she had as a cat. He turned around to see a very, beautiful, and very naked Yoruichi in her human form.

"Argh!" he screamed before slapping his hand over his eyes, "Yoruichi have some decency! Get back it to cat form!"

"What are you worried about, I just offered to opened the door for you. It's nothing that will hurt your pride."

"NO! Get back into cat form! Before someone sees you damn it!"

"Don't be old fashioned, uncover your eyes."

"I'm not being old fashioned, I being modern! Old fashioned was when it was okay for women to strut around naked!"

"Fine, I'll turn back," she said, a moment later, she announced, "alright, you can look now."

Kuroda uncovered his eyes, but quickly covered them again.

"You lied!" he shouted, falling down in surprise

"Ha! No matter how many times I see it, its always amusing," she said joyfully, "alright, this time I really will change back."

Kuroda uncovered his eyes again and let out a sigh of relief,

"What's the matter, disappointed are we?"

"You know I'm not," growled Kuroda,

"What? is this how you treat a friend you haven't seen for nearly a century?"

"What? N-no! It's just, well, I don't know," he stuttered,

"Anyway, like I was saying before, we should go in to talk. You look awfully strange talking to a cat in the middle of a hall way."

"Uh, right," he replied, this time managing to open the door without too much trouble.

Kuroda pushed the door open and let the black cat inside, as always, he checked down both ways of the hall before closing the door.

"Wow, this place is fancy," commented Yoruichi, "you've certainly been doing well for yourself Kuroda."

"Well, it is a penthouse," pointed out Kuroda,

"Indeed," said Yoruichi as she jumped on the leather sofa.

"It's actually a bit much for my taste," said Kuroda.

His apartment actually had two stories; the top level had his bed room and bathroom, plus the guest room. Down stairs had a large open space that served as the living room containing three sofas surrounding the widescreen TV attached to the wall. Just next to it was the kitchen. His room also offered him a good view of the city. In short, his room was luxurious.

"This is much better the Kisuke's place," she commented as she jumped around some more.

"Uh, so," he began, "your back."

He mentally whacked himself for saying such a stupid line.

"Sure am," she said,

"Are you…leaving soon?" he asked,

He whacked himself again.

"Why? Don't want me around?" she teased,

"What? No! I mean…it's great to see you again so I didn't want to get my hopes up that you'd be staying this time," he explained,

Yoruichi sighed, her kind of humor was utterly lost on a person like Kuroda. The man took things too seriously sometimes and completely misunderstood her words, but that was part of his charm.

"Don't worry, I'll be staying much longer this time around," she assured,

**#$)%&^)(*$)(%*&*(&#*($&#$(*:)**

**Okay, so this is the first two chapters of my Bleach fanfic sample chapters. Now, to make this bluntly clear, I'm only going up to chapter 5 for samples. Farther only if people ask me enough. I apologize for the overall lack of action so far. I kind of want to build up the character before throwing him into the fray.**

**To be clear, this story will run in parallel with Bleach's actual story. But you will not see the entire Bleach story written here. Instead, I'm going to only put the more important sections of it and fill in my own story between them. Sorry if that's not what you wanted. Review please!**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, those Japanese guys do. Much respect to them but I don't have time to search their names up right now.

Chapter 3

Serious face

Kuroda's face felt sweet relief as the ice cold water splashed on his face. The entire ordeal had been so much for him; he hadn't been able to keep his emotions in check. For him, that was a very bad thing, he hadn't spent a thousand years of his life, building an unapproachable attitude, just for it to be broken by a girl. A girl who happened to be his friend, be beautiful, have a long history with him and have eyes that shone like a…whoa there!

Kuroda quickly splashed more and more water on his face, desperately hoping that the liquid would snap him out of his thoughts, it didn't help that his mind kept going back to the incident.

_Flash back:  
>Kuroda sat idly on the couch as Yoruichi dressed herself behind him. She had tried to pull her stunt again, but thankfully he turned himself away before she completed the transformation. However, it did little to diminish his blushing. He really hated blushing.<em>

"_Jeez, you're just as uptight as ever," she commented from behind him._

"_Be quite, I'm just trying to be decent," he growled,_

"_You and your rules, when are you gonna loosen up and have some fun in life? It's not like you haven't seen naked before. Heck plenty of people have."_

"_If your referring to Kisuke, then let me remind you he and I are different. He'd make the statement that nudity was 'an expression of freedom'"._

"_Well, maybe you should be more like him," she said. That hurt, but Kuroda quickly grabbed the nearest mental box and shoved it in there. This wasn't the time for that._

"_Though honestly, you obviously much better off than he is," she commented as she finally finished putting on her clothes. She was in standard dress, orange shirt and what not._

"_Well, unlike him, I know how the economy works," he retorted,_

"_Humph, cold as ever I see," she said as she sat down across from him, "come on, where's the naïve little spit fire I knew when we were kids? I bet he's in there some -where, right?"_

"_Remember that one time where I said we should all go swimming, but I forgot my swim suit? Kisuke said it was fine, but you punched him in the face, dragged him away, and said-"_

"_Your hair has gotten longer," he said, quickly changing the subject,_

"_Huh, I guess it has," she said as if noticing for the first time, using her fingers to pick at it, "maybe I should get it cut."_

"_Don't, I like it," he said nonchalantly,_

"_Really?" she said, a smile small spread on her face._

_At that moment, Kuroda began to feel rather light headed. His surroundings began to grow hotter. He began to make a few strange observations such as, "her hair is quite shiny", "why are her teeth so white?", "Have her eyes always been so sparky?"_

_A small giggle erupted from Yoruichi as she watched the star struck and gaping Kuroda,_

"_Hey earth to Kuroda, what's going on up there?" she asked as she teasingly knocked on his fore head._

"_Uh…nothing," he said, quickly regaining his composure._

"_Well, I guess I might keep it, but it'll get in the way if I start fighting," she pointed out._

"_I've got an idea," he said as he stood up. He walked up stairs into his room and opened the closet and retrieved what he was looking for. He returned with a piece of cloth and a thick piece of string._

_Walking around behind her, he lifted up her hair and used the materials to fit it into a ponytail._

"_Here," he said, holding up a mirror for her from behind, "how's it look?"_

"_Hmm, I like it. You always could do wonders with the simplest of things," she said, as she admired herself in the mirror._

_While Yoruichi seemed to be having a wonderful time, this position they were in was very bad for Kuroda. It had given him a very advantageous look at her neck and put him very close to her. From the distance he could practically immerse himself in her scent, and it was intoxicating. He felt as if he were in some dream world. What made it worse was that Yoruichi reached up to take the mirror form him, and in that moment their fingers touched._

_Yoruichi didn't seem to think too much of it, but it had sent lightning bolts through Kuroda's veins. So shocked was he that nearly dropped the mirror into her hands. All this time, she innocently played with her hair, adjusting it to look better._

_It was too much for him, he couldn't control himself for much longer. It felt as if his heart would simply burst from his chest. Until finally, he threw his arms around her. Covering her in a deep hug as he pulled her into him, his forehead lightly touching her neck._

"_I'm happy that your back," he whispered,_

_At first he expected for her to pull away, to shout at him and tell him he was weak and that she didn't feel like that for him. But she didn't, instead he felt her reach up and wrap her own arms around his head, pulling her even further into the hug._

"_I'm happy to be back too," she replied quietly,_

_Kuroda felt like he was floating. It felt right, to just stay with her like this. This was what he wanted, wasn't it?_

_But 1000 years of instinct was not so easily dismissed. The happy feelings were easily pushed aside by the personality he had carried with him for so long. Of course, there was a moment of transition. In which he acted neither happy, nor cold._

_He immediately took back his arms and stumbled back, his face as red as red could possibly be._

_Yoruichi turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"_

"_Uh…please forgive me," he managed to stutter before dashing upstairs into the bathroom. And now he stood, splashing his face with ice cold water_

_End of flash back_

"God, I shouldn't have done that," muttered to himself, "get a hold of yourself."

He took in a deep breath and gently let it out.

"Okay, I'm good," he said as he walked out of the bathroom. He went back down stairs, only to find Yoruichi helping herself to the milk from his fridge.

"Oh, your back, are you alright?" she asked,

"I'm fine," he said calmly,

"That was pretty sudden you know, I didn't take you to be the type to show affection like that," she said,

"Then you know me pretty well," he said as he walked over to her,

"I actually kind of like it, you didn't show too much affection when we were children you know," she said as she took another glug of milk.

"Well…don't get used to it," he replied as calmly as possible,

"Eh? Where did all that compassion go?" she asked as she looked at a different Kuroda,

"oh I see, you've put on your serious face." She did a quick imitation of his face by furrowing her eye brows and turning her lips into an exaggerated frown.

"I haven't put on anything, this is simply the way I am," he replied,

"Ehhhh? Come on," she said, moving in closer, "turn that frown upside down!"

She then proceeded to painfully press the corners of his mouth up, in a rather vain attempt to make him smile. Of course, it didn't work.

"Ugh, back to the old serious, by the text book Kuroda," she said in a very disappointed voice,

"My apologies if this disappoints you," he replied,

"UGH! How did you ever get so uptight? Can't you lighten up just a little?" she asked,

Kuroda let his shoulders slack down a bit,

"Smart ass," she muttered with pouty lips,

"You can complain about me later, but right now I think we should talk about the matter at hand, why'd you come back?"

"What? I can't just want to see you guys again?"

"I wish I could believe that you did."

Yoruichi's disposition immediately switched into something more serious, it was a relatively large transition from her usually happy go lucky attitude.

"All right, I'll stop playing around. The reason I'm here is-"

Interrupting her, a loud and very strange sound filled the room. It had come from Yoruichi's stomach,

"Heh," she laughed, "I guess I'm a little bit hungry."

Kuroda sighed in exasperation, "I guess I'll cook something for you to eat."

Kuroda spent the next two hours watching Yoruichi as she devoured bowl after bowl of food. It had taken him nearly an hour for him to cook all of that fried rice, fried noodles, and BBQ meat.

Amazingly enough she managed to eat it all. It was actually quite amusing to be honest, Yoruichi at first glance would seem lithe but that couldn't be any farther from the truth. She ate enough for at least ten people, probably even more.

After at least an hour of eating, she finally was full. Took a large gulp of her milk and settled down.

"Ah! That was good," she said, patting her stomach in satisfaction, "you always were a wonderful chef. Is that how you pay for this place? You cook for a restaurant?"

"No, this may surprise you, but cooking isn't a passion. I just got good at it," he replied,

"Then how do you get all of this money?" she asked,

"I've lived in this world for at least 1000 years. I've made investments, helped start companies, done work on the stock market, and I even started my own line of hotels."

"Really? You're a real business man," she said, "do you go to meetings wearing a suit and tie?"

"No,"

"I don't blame you, clothes are so uncomfortable," she said as she tugged on her shirt collar, "I don't know how you stand them."

"Doesn't matter, in any case, are you going to tell me why you're here?"

Yoruichi's face darkened once again, her once joyful eyes were replaced with an ice cold stare. Kuroda almost found him missing her usual happy face, but right now, he knew better then to wish for that. If Yoruichi was serious, that meant the situation was truly grim.

"I guess I can't put it off any longer," she said as she placed her elbows on the table and clasped her hands together.

"I was roving around the world, simply checking around the sights, when I stumbled upon a hollow."

"A hollow?"

"Yes, but not like one you'd see so commonly," she explained, "this one is different, it possessed living humans, and devoured their souls."

Kuroda, let that sink in. He'd heard of only one incident where a hollow could possess a person, and that person was a soul reaper. It hadn't been as earth shattering, as soul reapers were souls, but to possess a living human being? That was unheard of.

"What did you do?" he asked,

"Well, naturally I attacked it," she started, "but it managed to get away. I later found out that it was using the human hosts to lure in other living human beings and devour their souls. Thus, jumping from body to body."

"Eventually, I managed to attack it while it was attempting to transfer to another host, then I destroyed it, but not before asking how it could do what it could do."

"And?"

"Nothing, it would speak."

"That is pretty disturbing," he concluded, "but why come back here?"

"I've been hunting another three of them, all of which have come to this town," she explained, "I need your help to take them down. Before it's too late."

Kuroda closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, as if in deep thought. For a long moment, he simply sat there, biding his time, thinking of his answer. Until finally;

"Sorry, I can't help you."

"What? Why not? Are you gonna just let people die?" screamed Yoruichi, she was stunned. All the time she'd known Kuroda, he'd never been one to back down from a fight with a hollow.

"I don't really do this sort of thing anymore," he explained, "let the soul society deal with it."

"They can't," she said, "when the hollows are in a human body, the soul society's scanners can't pick it up. I've seen a soul reaper walk right past one of these things and not so much as turn his head towards it!"

"Then get Kisuke, he's more into this stuff then I am," he suggested,

"Why are you turning your back on me? I need your help here, whatever is going on out there could be a serious threat! It could be a danger to the entire Soul Society, not to mention the human race!"

"That's what I mean Yoruichi, I don't care about either of those," he said,

Yoruichi immediately stopped herself, this wasn't the Kuroda she knew. The Kuroda she knew, would have jumped to action at the very mention of the word hollow. Despite his rather could demeanor, he was the most passionate of them, he was always the first into battle, the first to step into danger, the first of just about anything.

"What are you talking about?" she asked gently, "what do you mean you don't care?"

"It's exactly as it sounds. I don't care for the human race, or the Soul society," he explained, "I couldn't care if either was ended at this very instant."

"When?" She asked, "When did you change so much?"

"You weren't around during my time here, you wouldn't understand," he replied,

Yoruichi chose to remain silent, that had hurt. It felt like he'd just driven a nail through her heart, he had been, in her opinion, one of her closest friends. Now, he was acting like a total stranger.

"I really don't understand why I should care if either survives or not," he continued, "the Soul Society is full of corruption, horrible leaders, and crime. Not to mention the Soul Reaper corps are full of a bunch of idiots. And humans? They're not much better, they're greedy, uncompassionate, and ignorant. Look what they do to their own planet. To be honest, I don't see why we should even try. It's not worth it."

Again, Yoruichi chose to remain silent. Back when they were still part of the soul society, Kuroda had talked about his failing trust in both the soul society and in the human race as a whole. But, she had believed that he was over that, she had after all, been the one to snap him out of it.

_Flash back:_

_Kuroda sat quietly on the veranda, AnShen in his hand as he repeatedly flicked it out and in of it's scabbard. His eyes were cold and his muscles tense, anyone who passed by knew to keep their distance. Kuroda had a habit of lashing out at people who disturbed him when he was in a bad mood._

"_Why?" he whispered to himself, "why did he have to die? No one helped him, no one even tried. How can we protect the people, if we don't even stop to help each other?"_

_His grip tightened around his Zanpaktou, he clenched his teeth as he relived the moments in which he saw his Lieutenant die._

"_Damn it, what is wrong with people? Why are they constantly pushed to do bad things?" _

_His thoughts would have continued through that dark valley, until he felt something large and soft press against the back of his head and push him down, causing him to fall flat on his face._

_When he pushed himself up and turned around, he was not surprised to see his purple haired friend sitting on the veranda in his place._

"_Hey Kuroda, how's it going?" she asked,_

"_Leave me alone," he muttered as he dusted himself off,_

"_Eh? You seem particularly cold today," she pouted, "how about cheer you up?"_

"_How could you possibly do that?" he asked, though he immediately regretted doing so,_

"_The same way any boy would get happy," she said as she reached up to the straps of her uniform and started pulling them off._

"_WAIT!" he shouted, flashed stepped forward and quickly slipped the straps back on before they revealed too much, _

"_What are you thinking!" he shouted, "You don't go around taking off your shirt for anybody!"_

"_Of course not, you're my friend, so I do it to you," she explained innocently,_

"_Well…don't!"_

"_Then how else am I supposed to cheer you up? You never play tag like little Byakuya," she said,_

"_I don't know…how about you just leave me alone?" he suggested, his anger starting to rise. Though truthfully, he felt slightly calmer now that he was going through his ritual arguments._

"_Well what's making you depressed? You're not usually like this,"_

"_I don't want to talk about it," he muttered, only to find Yoruichi centimeters from his face,_

"_You are going to sit down, and then, we are going to talk about this," she ordered,_

"_Uh…yes ma'am,"_

_And so he told her. The Lieutenant of his division had been on a mission with the others. But while the fighting had gone on, the Lieutenant had been killed by the 3__rd__ seat officer. It had been done quietly and with no one to witness, no one, except Kuroda._

_The officer fled the next day, nowhere to be found. No search party had been organized, no sentence of execution, nothing._

_All because they had no leads._

"_I guess that's a valid reason to be depressed," said Yoruichi after hearing the story,_

"_Yoruichi, what's wrong with the world?" he asked her, "why doesn't anybody do anything? Why is everybody always doing bad things. What's the point of having a law, if no one follows it?"_

_Yoruichi placed her arm on his shoulder, "I don't know, its probably one of the oldest questions in existence."_

"_But I do know one thing, without us, it could be worse,"_

"_But we aren't trying hard enough! Everything, there's still problems everywhere. We aren't doing enough," he growled angrily, he felt pressure building up in his chest. Though he didn't notice it, his spiritual power was starting to take shape, waves of red and black energy surged from him. Small pebbles on the ground began to lift themselves off the ground as if being grabbed by invisible hands._

"_Calm down," she calmly commanded, Kuroda took a deep breath, and the energy subsided, "without us things would be worse, believe me. The Soul reaper corps may not be perfect, but they do what they can. If it weren't for us, hollows would run rampant, souls would be forever trapped in the world, and chaos would consume the world. Is that what you want?"_

"_Uh…no," he stated awkwardly,_

"_Then get up, brush off the dust and start walking with the rest of us," she said as she stood up and give him one last smile, before dashing off._

"_Not perfect, but there," he repeated, "well, I guess I can live with that for now."_

_Flash Back end_

"I'm sorry I can't be of more use," he said, "but, I'm the wrong person for this job. Get Kisuke to do it."

"No, it's okay, I…understand," she said, though she was obviously strained.

Kuroda stood up from the table and gathered up the plates and silver ware,

"You can stay here tonight if you'd like to, I won't mind," he said, before going off to wash the dishes. The rest of the night went by relatively quietly. After he finished with the dishes and homework, Kuroda decided to go to bed.

He was going to take a shower first, he'd sweat a considerable amount today, but found it already occupied.

'She must be taking a shower,' he thought, as he started to walk away, he noticed the door was not fully closed. He stepped forward to close it, only to find himself leaning a little too much towards the crack.

"No, I really shouldn't," he told himself, but against his better judgment, he did. Yoruichi had her back to the door, giving him a wonderful look at her naked backside. He immediately ripped himself from the sight.

Rubbing his forehead and taking deep breaths, he slowly marched towards his own room.

He really needed some sleep; the entire day had been too much for him. So he simply decided to retire to his room, without the shower.

As he lay on his bed, he found he could not sleep. His mind was far too awake and it buzzed with a million things. Mostly about Yoruichi, this hadn't been how he'd thought their reunion would be like, but it was probably his fault for that.

The warmth suddenly flooded out of his body. It was at that moment that he knew, Yoruichi had left.


	4. Chapter 4

**Argh! I want to work on this story so badly! It's tearing me up inside! wright sample? wright Parallel? Wright sample? Wright Parallel? I can't decide!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, I wish I did. But I don't. :(**

**Chapter 4**

**Regret**

BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!tap

Kuroda pushed himself out of bed, feeling particularly low on energy today. He practically dragged his feet across the floor to the bathroom, his face devoid of emotion.

Not even the cold splash of water was able to wake him fully, he didn't know why, but he felt like crap. More then usual.

A dark aura seemed to hang around him as he made his way down the hall and out the front door after having had his breakfest.

The spirits that he encountered seemed to flee at his very presence. The one he had saved earlier was floating around the exact same street. It floated up to him with the intent of speaking with his savior, but one look at the man and the spirit hightailed it into the air.

"Annoying,"muttered Kuroda as he continued on.

Even the living knew better then to bother him. Students practically ran to get out of the path of this very scary, and very angry looking student. On his way to class, he felt someone tap his shoulder.

"Um...Kuroda?"

The depressed man turned around to see Orihime, the orange haired girl had a jolly look on her face until she saw Kuroda turn around.

Her eyes suddenly widened and sweat began to develop on her forehead, to top it off, she was practically trembeling in fear.

"What is it?" the man gruffly asked,

"I...I...I...uh," she stuttered, finally, unable to take it any longer. The poor girl turned around and sprinted away as fast as she possibly could, leaving a sizeable trail of dust behind her.

Kuroda shrugged it off and continued to class.

In class, everyone, including all of his friends, tried to give him a wide a berth as possible. Some people even mentioned actually being able to see the dark cloud hanging around him. Those that sat next to him tried to scoot away as far as possible. Those that they scooted next to understood their perdicament and gladly allowed it.

"KURODA!" shouted , "If your going to scare all of your fellow classmates, can you at least do it outside of class?"

The students watched in horror as she hit the depressed man with her book.

"I...apologize, ," he muttered as if not even noticing the barrage of hits he was taking.

"Oh, very well as long as you apologized," said, suddenly very happy.

Many of the students comically fell out of their seats.

After class, many of them filed out the door as quickly as possible. Some shouting "get out of the way! He's coming!" or "Run for your lives!"

Kuroda slowly stood up from his seat and walked towards the door.

"Kuroda," said Ichigo as he approached the gloomy man,

"Huh?" he asked as he turned around.

"Uh..." spoke the brightly haired boy, who, up until now, had been immune to Kuroda's terrifying disposition, "I was just wondering if you were alright."

"I'm fine," he immediatly responded.

"Are you sure?" he asked again, "if you're having trouble with something, I'll happily help out."

"Thanks Ichigo, but It's more of a personal thing," he explained before starting out the door.

"Actually," he said, stopping halfway, "maybe you can answer a question."

"Uh, sure,"

"If a friend asked you to help them out, but it was against what you believed in, would you help them out?" he asked, "or would you stick to your beliefs?"

"Hm," started Ichigo, "I'm not quite sure, it all really depends on what it is really."

"Then, let me ask you this," said Kuroda as he turned to face his friend. Taking in a deep breath, he asked, "do you ever feel disgusted by the way humanity acts?"

"What do you mean?" asked Ichigo, a very puzzled look on his face,

"I mean, seriously, look at all the horrible things that has happened in the world. Its always because of people, and no one seems to care that these things happen. They just go on, living, not even caring about the things that happen around them."

"Yeah, but not all of us are like that," Ichigo managed to muster,

"But, it feels like it doesn't it? Whats a few good people, to thousands of ignorant ones?" he asked, "I've been around Ichigo, more then you know. Eventually, all humans hearts seem to fall into wickedness. We dominate each other our own injury, and use the weak to reach higher into the sky. Is that not true?"

"No, its not," Ichigo said firmly, "we're not all that weak. Not all of us are like that. I don't know what makes you think that. But there are those of us that go the other way, we rise up on our own and do whats right."

"You really believe that don't you?" asked Kuroda, speaking as if Ichigo had just said the stupidist thing he'd ever heard.

"Instead of focusing on the bad parts of humanity, how about focusing on some of the good parts. You might be suprised."

A long moment of silence hung in the air as Kuroda let Ichigo's words sink in. Unconciously, his eyes drifted to the floor, unable to face his friend.

A fist suddenly smashed into the side of his head, sending him into a collision with the wall.

"Agh!" he yelled as he regained his bearings and stood up, now rather pissed off. Turining to his friend he growled, "what was that for! I thought you were supposed to be helping me!"

"Can't have you going soft on me," explained Ichigo as if he had done nothing. "Just think about what I've said."

With that, his friend walked away, making his way through the many shocked on lookers.

"What are you all looking at?" he muttered in a low dangerous tone. All of the audiance immediatly ran for their lives, none daring to look back to see if the man was following.

Kuroda sighed, dusted himself off, and headed to his next class.

'Of all people, I thought Ichigo might understand my feelings for this.' he thought to himself, 'He'll see eventually, even if he's so sure he already does. I know I'm right, humans always follow their wicked ancestors. No matter how good they may seem, they'll fall to darkness.'

As he continued to walk, a question popped into his mind. If what he said was true, then did that mean all his human friends would also follow that dark road?

No they wouldn't, they were good people.

But he had said it himself, humans, not matter whom, always fell to the darkness.

He rubbed his temple furiously, his teeth clenched and his eyes narrowed. He tried to stop thinking about the subject, but the more he avoided it the more it came back to him.

"I need some more answers," he finally decided.

The next class went by rather fast, the students were still terrified, but the teacher was asleep the entire time so nothing really happened. By now, it was lunch time, but Kuroda didn't really feel hungry.

"Ugh," he muttered as he walked down one of the outside halls, "I just want this day to be over. I've got this weird, irritating feeling in my chest, and it won't go away."

"Hello Kuroda,"

Kuroda looked up just in time to stop himself from walking into 6 and a half feet of muscle.

"Oh, hi Chad," he said, blankly staring up at the giant.

"You seem depressed," said Chad bluntly, "is something wrong?"

"Sort of," he replied, his hand rubbing the back of his neck, "but its nothing you should concern yourself over."

"We're friends, your problems are my problems," said Chad, remaining adamant.

"Heh, unlucky you," joked Kuroda, "wanna go get some lunch?"

The of them ended up going into town and stopping at a burger joint to eat. After ordering, both of them ordering at least 5 burgers, and paying the bill, the two of them headed back to school.

"Man, the quality of food these days is dropping dramaticaly," commented Kuroda as they walked,

"I think it has to do with the economy" replied Chad in a monotone,

"Nah, buisness owners are just too cheap to really care about the customers. So they just find the bare minimum quality that they're allowed to sell and use that."

After a long pause, Chad finally said, "probably."

Most of their walk remained in silence, both of them not really sure what to talk about. It held up until Kuroda finally broke the silence.

"Chad, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"If you had a friend, and that friend asked you to do something you didn't want to do, would you still do it?"

"Yes," he replied immediatly,

"Wait, did you even think about your answer? This is a serious topic," he said, narrowing his eyes.

"I did,"

"Well, could you explain it to me?" he asked,

"Its simple really, I'd help my friend, simply because its my friend whose asking me to do it."

"But you don't want to do it! It might go against what you believe in," he pointed out.

"If this person is really my friend, then they must know what my beliefs are. If what they ask me to do goes against that, then there are two explanations. Either this person isn't really my friend, and doesn't really care about whats good for you, or, your beliefs are wrong ones and your friend is in the right. You can never truly understand what is right in your eyes, because you always believe you are in the right. It takes a true friend to tell you that you are in the wrong. That is why I think you should help your friend and do as they asked."

Kuroda remained silent, pondering what Chad had said. It took him a good amount of time before he realized that Chad had said "you" for a good portion of his explanation.

"I didn't say that I had that problem," he finally said,

"Then why did you ask?"

Kuroda let himself smirk, continuing his walk back to school.

The rest of the day went by relatively quickly. The halls were not very cluttered today for some reason, usually they'd be full of people talking or going to class.

After the end of his last class, Kuroda had a pretty bad headache. He'd been thinking about the things his friends had said in contrast with his own beliefs. He racked his brain hour after hour for an answer, not even paying attention to the teacher.

_'Why doesn't anyone seem to agree with me,' _he wondered as he walked down the hall, his hands tightening on his bag.

_'Don't my ideas make sense? I've lived for god knows how long, and I've seen more then my fair share of the world.'_ he thought,

_'I know that I'm right, I have to be. But, why do I have to be?' _he wondered,

_'Because...the humans and the Soul Society do not deserve my help, I tried once and it changed nothing. I'm never going back down that road,'_ he finally decided.

He felt like he'd finally found his answer to the question that had plauged him all morning. Yet, there was still a sliver of uncertainty, a small speck of questioning that stood out from his conviction and it bugged him like HELL!

So frustrated was he that he let out an unintentional growl of frustration.

"Um..." said a shaky voice from behind him.

He whipped around to see Orihime, her eyes wide with terror, her forehead dripping with sweat.

"H-Hello Kuroda," she managed to stutter.

"uh...Hi Orihime," he said, completely puzzled as to why the girl looked like she'd just seen a ghost.

"I...I...I," she stuttered repeatedly,

"Yessssss?" he said, making it clear that he was getting irritated.

"I made you this," she finally spat out, shutting her eyes and holding out...something.

"Uh..." was all Kuroda could say as he looked at what he assumed was food. It looked like a cake but it had peanut butter and jelly between the layers, as well as jelly in the chocolate layers, and the icing on the cake was...wasabi, "what is exactly is that?"

Part of him started believing that the girl was trying to kill him...death by cake.

"Its my special peanut butter and jelly cake sandwich, with wasabi icing," she quickly spat out, "I...I noticed that you seemed really depressed today, well I didn't noticed, Tatsuki did, I can never tell when your depressed. You always look the same to me."

Kuroda visably slouche with a dark aura hanging over him. He must look pathetic for people not to be able to know when and when he wasn't depressed.

"Huh? What are those dark lines hanging over you?" asked Orihime,

"What dark lines?" he asked, straightening his back.

"Ah! The disappeared!" she yelled, waving her hand over Kuroda's head.

'What a strange girl,' he thought to himself.

"Anyway, this is my last slice, and I thought I'd give it to you. Whenever I'm sad, I eat some and I feel better right away!" she explained, pushing it towards him.

He reluctantly accepted the strange gift, it was a nice thought and he didn't want to upset her by not acceptin it. He hated it when girls cried, especially when HE was the cause.

A small memory ran through his mind as he stared down at the strange pastry.

_Flash back_

_Kuroda stood on the grassy hills of the 3rd district in Rukongai, near the base of Mt. Koifushi. The sky was a wonderful blue with but a few clouds, the sun shone brightly as it always had in Soul Society._

_The wind gently blew over and through his hair, causing it to sway like the grass beneath him._

_This was in his younger years, when he bore the appearence of a teen in his mid years, next to him stood Yoruichi. Her hair was short but well kept and her clothes were a pale white._

_Together the two of them stood on the hill, simply enjoying each others company and the beautiful view before them._

_Behind them, a crystal clear lake shining beautifully in the sunlight._

_"Its nice isn't it?" she asked, breaking the silence, "these moments of peace we have."_

_"Yeah," he replied, "its nice not to be fighting or training for once."_

_"Ah, so you do have a laid back side," she teased, "I thought it was always just work, work, and more work for you."_

_"Shut up," he replied, though not in a hostile tone._

_"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, guys!" shouted a voice, the two of them turned to see Kisuke walking towards them._

_"Oh great," muttered Kuroda, "here comes the idiot, ready to ruin the moment."_

_"Come on," said Yoruichi giving him a playful punch to the shoulder, "you like him and you know it."_

_Kuroda chose to remain silent and cross his arms._

_By then Kisuke had made it to them, a large smile plastered on his face._

_"Hey guys, how ya doing? You two on a date or something?" he asked bluntly,_

_Kuroda comicly fell to the ground as though gravity had suddenly gotten fifty times stronger. He managed to muster some strength and push himself up._

_"Nah, thats next week," joked Yoruichi. With that sentence Kuroda's face had become a bright red._

_"Oh, I see," said Kisuke, his already large smile becoming larger. "So, what are you guys doing now?"_

_"Just, enjoying the quiet," replied Kuroda as he finally managed to get up._

_"Hm," said Kisuke, _

_"hey want to go swimming?" he suddenly asked, a mischevious look on his face._

_"Sure," Yoruichi immediatly responded, then moved to pull of her shirt._

_"STOP!" yelled Kuroda as he pulled her shirt back down before she revealed too much._

_With a fire in his eyes he turned to the very disappointed looking Kisuke, his smile now replaced with a frown. Kuroda smashed his forehead into the blonde man's, his teeth bared in anger._

_"You had a plan didn't you?" he asked,_

_"Well...maybe," replied Kisuke nervously,"but come on! You probably wanted it to happen too."_

_"GO TO HELL!"yelled Kuroda. He grabbed a fistful of Kisuke's shirt and flung him over his shoulder, sending the blondie soaring through the air and into the middle of the lake, landing with a very large splash._

_"Don't you think that was a bit harsh?" asked Yoruichi,_

_"He deserved it," defended Kuroda, the slightest amount of pink on his cheeks._

_"Yeah, but its...well its Kisuke," she reasoned,_

_"Whatever," he muttered,_

_'why is she defending that idiot,' he wondered,_

_"Oh, by the way, I have something for you?"_

_"Huh?"_

_Yoruichi reached into a pouch around her waist and pulled out a small object._

_It was a ring._

_A thousand things whizzed through Kuroda's head, many of which he does not want me to write._

_Needless to say, his eyes widened and his face was that of pure terror._

_"Here you go," she said, holding it out to him._

_"Uh..." was all he could say as he gently took the ring._

_"Its a preasent," she explained, she held up another similar ring._

_"I got it form a shop in Rukongai, they're friendship rings. It symbolizes our dedication as friends," she continued._

_"Oh! Well...uh."_

_"Oh come on!" she said putting her hands on her hips, "its not like we're getting married or something!"_

_"Uh, yes ma'am," he said, putting it onto his left ring finger, Yoruichi put it on similarly._

_"Friends forever right!" she said, putting on a big smile._

_"Uh...yeah," he responded shyly, a large blush covering his face._

_Yoruichi wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled them together, letting out a laugh, just for the heck of it. Kuroda soon found himself laughing as well._

_The moment was immediatly ruined by the sound of a splash as Kisuke pulled himself out of the lake._

_"Hey! I'm back!" he announced as he walked up the hill towards his friends._

_"You have quite the arm Kuroda," said Kisuke as though nothing happened. He then noticed the two rings that his friends now wore._

_"Huh? Oh, I see. You two finally go married!" he concluded,_

_Kuroda immediatly crashed to the ground, his body slightly fidgeting. He was about to push himself up when he suddenly heard._

_"Yep! Kuroda just proposed a minute ago. We're going to get married at a big wedding and have lots of kids!"_

_Kuroda sank another two feet into the ground and steam shot out of his ears, his face was the brightest red there could be._

_"Good for you!" said Kisuke cheerily as he looked down through the crater at Kuroda. A fist suddenly shot out and caught Kisuke in the jaw, effectively knocking him onto his back._

_Before either of his friends could say anything, Kuroda became a stream of dust as he bounced out of his crater and rushed towards the lake._

_The minute he hit the water, steam began to rise from the surface, a lot of it. After a long while, the steam stopped, leaving the lake a good bit decreasd._

_Kuroda soon surfaced from the water, letting only the top half of his face become visable._

_"You okay?" asked Yoruichi,_

_"Glup, bubble, glup bubble," he responded,_

_"Huh?"_

_"I'm fine," he muttered as he finally dragged himself from the water._

_"Come on," said Yoruichi, still very cheerful, "let go get something to eat."_

Kuroda continued to stare at the pastry, still lost in his memory.

"Um...are you okay?" asked Orihime,

Kuroda snapped back to the present, "uh...yeah,"

"Um, may I ask, what is bothering you?"

Kuroda winced, making Orihime fear that she may have angered him, but he kept himself composed.

"Its kinda personal," he replied, "lets just say it has to do with an old friend."

"Oh," was her only response,

"Hey, mind if I ask you a question?"

"Sure," she said as cheerfully as she could.

"If, you had a friend, and that friend did something really bad to you. What would you do?"

"Oh, I have a story for this one!" said Orihime, suddenly very excited. Out of her backpack she brought out a fake beard and grey haird wig.

"Uh, whats that for?" he asked, almost reluctantly.

"Its to set the mood," she explained,

'All its doing is making me question why I'm talking to you,' he thought to himself.

"There were once two friends," she started, "they both traveled the desert, lost and nowhere to go. Though they were best friends, the stress soon got to them. They became heated and began to argue, until finally, one of the friends punched the other in the face."

"That night, when they made camp, the friend who had been punched wrote in the sand, 'Today, my best friend punched me in the face'."

"The next day, they found an oasis. This oasis had a large body of water, they decided to stay and take a bath in it. As they bathed, the friend who had been hit yesterday, suddenly started drowning!"

'How deep is that water?' he wondered,

"The man's friend, quickly came to his rescue, and dragged the man onto land. That night, the man found a rock and wrote on it 'today, my best friend saved my life.'"

"The man's friend asked 'yesterday, you wrote on sand, now you write on a rock, why?"

"the man responded, "because sand will eventually be blown away, but what is on this rock, will last forever," she finished. "So you see, true friends don't focus on the bad, the must focus on the good. That way, they remain friends!"

"Uh...so, you'd forgive your friend?"

"Uh huh!" she said nodding vigourously.

"Okay, well, thanks for the cake," he said as walked away,

"BYE!"

As he left, Kuroda began to wonder, when he had asked that question, was it for himself, or Yoruichi? Well, he was definitley sure that Yoruichi hadn't done anything wrong to him, so by the time he got out of school, he was assured that it was himself that he was referring to.

As he continued his walk back to his apartment, his mind weighed heavily on the things that his friends had told him.

"They all think I'm in the wrong more or less, maybe I am," he said to himself. All this thinking was giving him a huge headache.

"To hell with what they think," he muttered, "they haven't seen what I've seen, they haven't gone through what I've had to go through. What could they possibly know?"

_'But, they are your friends. They are the people that know you the best, maybe they are right,'reasoned another part of him._

But he pushed it aside, no, he was right in not helping Yoruichi. He had to remain steadfast in his belief, let man kind wipe itself out, let Soul society wallow in its corruption and filth.

By the time the man reached his apartment, he was in an even fouler mood then when he had first gotten to school earlier that day. A dark arua practically radiated from him.

It was a friday too, he was usually happy on fridays. Well...as happy as he could be without him not being...him.

He flopped himself onto his couch and flipped on the TV, not even really paying attention to what was going on, something about a Samurai vs a Viking.

_'If I've come to the answer of my question, then why do I feel like I'm still lost' _he wondered.

A strange feeling had built in his chest, like some evil vine had wrapped itself around his heart and squeezed as hard as it could.

"I feel like punching Kisuke in the face," he muttered to himself. He turned off the TV and went upstairs to his bedroom. There he took AnShen off the wall and sat down on his bed with the sword in his lap.

"What do you think?" he asked, "did I make the right choice?"

Several moments passed and no response. That was strange, AnShen was usually eager to respond to his wielders questions. As he put it, it was a chance to show how much smarter he was, of course that also made Kuroda feel like crap.

He felt bad just thinking about it.

"Come on," he muttered, "get out of there, don't you want to call me a turtle?"

He shook the sword a bit. Nothing.

"Hey! Whats the matter with you!"

Suddenly, a knock came down from his door, interrupting his interrogation of the sword.

"Ugh, who could that be?" he asked himself, he put AnShen down on his bed and said, "don't go anywhere, I'm not done talking to you."

As he exited his room, he realized, he just told a sword not to go anywhere. A sword.

"I'm insane," he muttered.

Another, more persistant knock came from the door.

"I'm coming!" he yelled, people today had no patience.

He finally reached the door to see...Yoruichi. Bloodied and battered.

"Hey...Kuroda," she muttered weakly, a small smile on her face.

Kuroda stood at his door, too stunned to even try to help. It was only when she finally collapsed onto the floor, that he snapped out of his daze.

"Yoruichi!" he yelled, quickly catching the purple haired woman.

"Damnit!" he muttered as he looked down at his friend, blinking back tears. He quickly carried her into his apartment, and prayed to whatever god that would listen, that she would be alright.

**Well, I'm sorry for the lack of action in this chapter. I just kinda feel like I need to build Kuroda as a person right now. And what better way to do that then by using friends?**

**Anyway, I'm in rather dire need to know if you people would like me to write this parallel to my other story. Honestly, I'd like to. But I need to know if you want me to.**

**Review, subscribe, REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ugh, I can't believe I typed so much, is it the 5****th**** chapter alreay? Wow. Okay, due to popular demand, I'm going to continue working on this story. I'll probably regret it but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited to do so. Bleach, unlike AVP can give me a constant stream of inspiration. Anyway, enjoy the violence. In fact, this chapter has character development, and violence. I know right, who thought that would ever be possible!**

Chapter 5

I Was Not Trying To Ravage You!

Kuroda sat in a chair next to his own bed, his hands tightly clasped together, and his eyes red with worry and lack of sleep. Just an hour ago, he had found his dearest friend on his doorstep, bloodied and bruised, though her wounds were not many, they were deep.

That alone had been enough to worry the man, it was unlike Yoruichi to be wounded so badly, and she had been hunting hollows to boot. No hollow, was capable of inflicting such a wound on the Flash Master. Which meant, either she was getting slower, or there was something even worse out there.

But he pushed those thoughts from his head, right now, all he cared about was making sure his friend stayed alive.

He kept replaying what had happened in his head. He had quickly carried her into the living room and set her on the couch. At first he had tried to wake her up, but found no response from her. He reluctantly took of her shirt, thankfully she wore a bra, and inspected her wounds as best as he could. A large and nasty gash on her back was the worst of her wounds, other minor cuts and bruises crisscrossed her belly and arms.

Turning her onto her stomach, he quickly cleaned and bandaged the wound as best he could, using what little kido healing he knew to try and further the process. He was no healer like those of the 4th division, but he had known enough to close the wound. The rest was up to her.

"You fool," he muttered, not really knowing if it was to Yoruichi or himself, "why did you do this?"

He should have stopped Yoruichi from doing this stupid mission of hers, but part of him knew that Yoruichi wouldn't have listened even if he had tried.

Still, he couldn't help feeling that this was mostly his fault, it usually was.

He sighed heavily and rubbed the temples of his forehead. He turned his eyes back to the woman on his bed, taking his time in examining her.

She seemed so peaceful and innocent as she lay there, like she had nothing to worry about. Her hair and skin, shone beautifully in the moonlight. The wounds could not detract from her beauty, if anything, they almost enhanced it.

Which was weird.

Kuroda let out a small chuckle; it was unlike him, to be doing this sort of thing.

"I must be tired," he reasoned, "or insane."

Yoruichi shifted slightly, her face contorted into one of pain. She let out a small groan of discomfort, muttering a few words that he couldn't hear. Kuroda reached out his hand to hers, but stopped himself just before he could grab it.

He painfully shut his eyes and pulled himself back, silently scolding himself as he did.

It was just then, that Kuroda's cell phone started ringing, effectively snapping him out of his own little world.

He reached into his pocket and answered it.

"MoshiMoshi,"

"Kuroda, its me, Kisuke," said Kisuke over the phone, his voice rather serious.

"Hey Kisuke, what's up?" he asked non-nonchalantly.

"Oh, nothing much really," said Kisuke, though he remained serious.

"Uh boss," said Tessai's voice, "remember the thing?"

"What thing! What's going on!" yelled Jinta's voice

"Go back to bed!" shouted Tessai,

"Oh, right," said Kisuke, "uh, there's about fifty hollows around your area right now. They're doing it slowly, but they're converging on your house. Any idea why?"

Kuroda's eye widened with fear, why didn't he notice it before? In her damaged state, Yoruichi had no control over herself, she practically spewed out reiatsu. He cursed himself for his lack of vigilance, reminding himself to give himself a smack to the head later.

"Yeah," he replied, "but I'm sure, the resident Shinigami will take care of it."

"Normally yes," said Kisuke, "but that's why I decided to call you. These hollow...they're somehow traveling under the radar?"

"What! How?" he demanded,

"I'm not sure, I've never heard of a hollow being able to do such a thing. You'd need to be able to tamper with it, in order for it to do that," explained the blonde man.

"Ugh, why didn't you call me earlier?" asked Kuroda, thoroughly irritated.

"I didn't find out until now!" cried Kisuke defensively.

Kuroda let out a low growl, "I'll take care of it."

With that, he hung up his phone. His face darkened and became like stone, eyes narrowed into a dangerous glare.

He silently popped out of his gigai, donning his rouge Shinigami outfit. He grabbed AnShen from the wall and tied him to his belt.

"Good think tomorrow is a Saturday," he said to himself as he fazed through the wall, and immediately spotting the large horde of hollows moving towards him, "because I'm not getting any sleep tonight."

*(#&%^&*#)&*(&#$*()#&*(#()#^

The hollows charged toward the tall building in the distance as fast as they possibly could, each one of them drooling in anticipation. Whatever it was, the soul that was inside of that building was particularly powerful, which meant, it was particularly mouthwatering.

The hollows bashed weaker ones out of the way as they desperately clambered over each other. The fastest hollow, and therefore the one in the front, lead by a good amount of space. It was a vaugley wolf like hollow, it was blue skinned with parts of bone along its head, back and forearms, making it resemble the earths canine hunter, except it was the size of a car. Drool dripped from its sharp teeth in anticipation of being the first to sink its teeth into that juicy soul up ahead.

It knew that with this one soul, it would have enough power to ascend into a Gillian.

The pure thought of it made a shiver go up it's spine.

The hollows behind the wolf hollow accepted that it would be the first but faught nonetheless to be the next in line.

They were but a mile from the building when suddenly, the lead hollow detected a second, even more delicous soul. It was enough for him to suddenly slow down and attempt to find this new prey. It stuck its nose into the air and took in a deep wiff of the soul's scent.

After a few moments, the hollow located the new soul, it was...right above him?

The unlucky hollow was only able to raise its head to the sky, seeing only a flash before it was all over.

The oncoming horde of hollows came to a sudden halt as it suddenly witnessed Kuroda swoop down like a hawk from above and sink his katana into the lead hollows head.

"You hollows," he muttered as he slid his sword from the hollow's head, "have no manners."

He brought AnShen to a rest on his shoulder, and looked up towards the horde. His eyes narrow and dangerous, a mask for war chissled onto his face.

"Don't you know, its rude to disturb a sleeping woman?" he asked to no one in particular,

Taking AnShen off of his shoulder, he pointed its tip towards the horde challenging them to make the first move. They happily obliged.

As if on cue, the entire horde of hollows charged forward, eager to devour this new soul that stood before them. A small spark ignited in Kuroda's mind for the first time, for the first time in many years, he felt the rush of adrenaline course through his veins, for the first time in many years, he was excited.

Just as the hollows converged on him, ready to tear him limb from limb, he suddenly disappeared, much to their confusion.

They heard a sharp whistle from behind, turning and seeing the source was none other then the lone soul that had been but a moment ago, surrounded by them.

"You hollows...just can't keep up with Shunpo," he muttered, a moment later, a dozen hollows exploded in blood and fell to pieces, splattering their fellow hollows with their blood.

So stunned were the remaining hollows, that they barely noticed Kuroda use shunpo, and put himself directly at their front line.

"lets go," he growled excitedly.

He swung at the nearest hollow, cutting it right in half, then the next and the next and the next. He disappeared and reappeared, continuing the chain of the endless slaughter. A fine crimson mist oozed into the air as AnShen became a sweeping arc of destruction and death. Its blade gleamed beautifully in the moonlight as it soaked itself in the blood of its enemies.

If one were to look upon this massacre, they might even feel pity for the hollows.

Some of the fallen souls managed to get smart and decided to all charge the warrior at the sametime. Kuroda gave them an A for creativity, but it wouldn't make a difference.

The minute they all came within range, he extended out his sword and spun himself into a deadly tornado, killing all of them in a single move.

Blood splattered itself all over his clothes, streaks of the red fluid covered his face. He felt the hot liquid roll down his face and drop off his chin, it made him feel warm inside.

With a flick of his wrist he threw off some of the blood building up on his blade, then charged back into the fray, dancing from hollow to hollow and alternately killing each of them.

"What's the matter?" asked Kuroda, "aren't you all hungry? Aren't you all going to try to take a big bite out of me?"

The hollows were hesitant now; already their numbers had been reduced to but a fourth of their original strength. Any who got close to the deadly warrior were immediately cut down and the only blood covering him right now was theirs.

That was when, the first of them, took a step back.

Then, one by one, each of them slowly began walking back, never taking their eyes off the danger in the front.

Kuroda's eyes narrowed dangerously, a scowl found its way onto his lips.

Using shunpo, he disappeared again, and reappeared at their front ranks.

"I don't remember saying you all could leave," he said in a low, dangerous voice.

Just as he was about to resume his deadly dance, a loud roar split the air, right behind him. The warrior whipped around, to find a towering Gillian just right behind him.

How had he missed that?

The Gillian opened its large gaping maw, a tiny red dot appeared in the center of its mouth. But it soon quickly built up into a large ball of red energy, a cero.

Not a trace of fear crossed Kuroda's face as the Gillian fired upon him. The great red beam of spiritual energy collided with the lone figure, and filled the night air with light. The Gillian's attack soon died down, and slowly, the night returned to darkness.

"Well, now you've gone and done it," growled Kuroda, standing in the air, completely untouched by the cero.

The only evidence of the Gillian's attack was Kuroda's missing shirt. Burnt away by the cero.

"That, WAS MY FAVORITE SHIRT!" he growled indignantly,

Like a mad bull he charged forward, easily dodging the oversized hollows clumsy attempts at swatting him out of the air. As soon as he was within range, he shot out his hand grabbed a fistful of the Gillian's head, with a roll of his shoulders, he tore the hollow's head clean off it's shoulders.

Moments later, in vanished into spirit particles. What remained of the hollow horde was now in full retreat, all of them making their way back to Hueco Mundo as quickly as possible.

"That lasted a lot shorter then I thought it would," he mumbled as he rested AnShen upon his shoulder, "but...at least, Yoruichi is safe."

Feeling a small tinge of embarassment, even though no one was around, he began to sheath his sword. AnShen was half way into his sheath when suddenly, Kuroda felt a huge surge of spiritual pressure. It far surpassed any of the hollow's, or even the Gillian's. But what was the strangest fact, was that it did not feel like a hollow's.

With speed only he possessed, he whipped out AnShen and raised it above the back of his head, just in the nick of time to block an incoming sword.

The blades clashed heavily against one another, Kuroda's reiatsu flared, bringing back light to the dark of the night. The dark crimson cast an ominous hue upon the town beneath him.

The rouge Shinigami swung around just in time to see his assailant flee through a strange looking senkaimon. But he did catch one, important detail, the man, wore a black kimono.

Kuroda's eyes widened in anger, they dared to attack him!

He felt his own reiatsu slowly began to rise to dangerously large amounts, the very air around him seemed to thicken. He forced himself to calm down and take a few deep breaths.

He stayed in the same spot of the sky for at least ten minutes, finally, he took his first steps back to his apartment, sheathing AnShen as he went.

He felt pissed.

Fazing back into his apartment, he walked back into his room, taking a moment to wipe some blood off his face. He was still covered in the stuff.

He sat back down in his chair, and let his eyes wander to Yoruichi. She was still sleeping.

He sighed heavily, "Yoruichi, every time you show up in my life, something happens. Either you bring me lower than I've ever felt, or you make me feel like I could fly. It's weird, I never thought anyone could affect my life so much after…well, you know who I mean."

He lazily propped AnShen on his chair and continued, "I remember the first time we met each other, the times you lectured me on having fun while in the academy, and the last time I saw you before you left. I remember every moment I ever spent with you. You want to know the strange thing about it all? Even during the hard times I had with you, when we'd disagree and you'd stay mad with me for days, and then forgive me the minute I said sorry, I can't ever remember really feeling horrible. I felt sad at the time, but, I can't say that those times made me sad. You can interpret that any way you like, then again your asleep so you can't even here me to begin with."

A small smirk entered his lips as he stared at her on the bed, lying there so peacefully. Without thinking he reached out to touch the tip of her fingers.

"I guess, since your asleep I can be like this, instead of what I'm usually like. But, since you can't hear this. I just want to say that, even when I disagree with you and give you a hard time, I never mean to hurt you, it's just the way I am."

He leaned toward her from his position, unknowingly getting closer and closer to her face, until they were but inches apart.

'I really shouldn't,' he thought to himself.

Even then he felt himself getting closer, but seemed powerless to stop himself. Untill…she smiled?

Kuroda's eyes widened, Yoruichi began to snort, and her smile suddenly got bigger.

"Wha-what? Your awake!"

Yoruichi finally exploded into full blown laughter, sitting up but still holding her sides as she howled.

"I totally had you fooled! You thought I was asleep all this time!" she managed to say through her unending laughter.

"I-You- and I-" he stuttered, "I was- and you were- SHUT UP!"

"Oh come on," she managed to say though her laughs, "relax, I'm sure some day you'll *hahaha* look back on this *hahaha* and see this as a happy moment*hahahaha*!"

"I-I, damn you! That, was a very personal moment for me!" he yelled, wildly shaking his fist at his friend.

"Oh come on, I know you really enjoy this," she said, stringing it out and putting an emphasis on "really".

"I, have no idea what you're talking about!" he yelled defensively,

"Don't have to play innocent, I heard every word of your little speech," she teased,

"I-I don't know what you're talking about,"

"Don't pretend you like you didn't know," she smirked, playfully batting her eyelashes and waving her hand at him.

"You're horribly injured, you probably hallucinated," he reasoned,

"Oh, but those blushing cheeks tell a different story," she laughed as she pinched one of his cheeks,

'Damn it, I order you to stop blushing!' he screamed in his head,

"I'm, just hot. It's hot in here," he explained,

"Really, but your shirt is off," she pointed out, Kuroda was hoping she wouldn't have noticed that.

"Nice six pack," she observed, using her cold hand to touch his stomach.

"AHH!" yelled and fell out of his seat,

"Don't do that!" he yelled as he pushed himself back up.

"Oh my, what reason could you possibly have for taking your shirt off?" she playfully teased, batting her eyelashes like an innocent little girl, which she was not.

"I-"

"Could it be?" she said cutting him off, "oh my, I'm only in a bra,"

"I-wait, you're not thinking-"

"Oh my, you were. I understand, having a beautiful, hot young girl like me, asleep and at your disposal, it's only natural that you can't control yourself."

"I was not trying to ravage you!" he protested,

"Oh, I never said you were," she said innocently, "I didn't know you had such a perverted mind Kuroda, maybe I shouldn't be staying with you."

"I-you –me, ARGH!"

"Come on, I'm just messing with you," she said, finally returning to her normal voice, "everyone knows, you're a total prude."

"I am not a PRUDE!" he yelled,

"Sheesh, you've got some serious lungs," commented Yoruichi, "anyway, why is your shirt gone?"

"It got burned off," he explained, still visibly pissed.

"Burned?"

"Yeah, you being unconscious and wounded turned out to be a bad combination. You leaked reiatsu like a broken pipe. I had to fend off the hollows that came for you, one of them happened to be a Gillian, its cero burned off my shirt.

"Oh, well I'm not complaining," she teased,

"Will you please act your age? And stop moving around so much, you're going to reopen those wounds," he scolded.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," she said, waving off his warning and standing up to stretch.

"And put a shirt on," growled Kuroda, turning his eyes away.

"Oh, you don't like the view," she asked, bending over a bit to give him a better view.

"Just but a shirt on," he muttered before walking out of the room.

He walked down the stairs and opened a closet, selecting a new shirt. It was an old one, back from his Shinigami days. It resembled a stereotypical black ninja's shirt except the sleeves were cut short so that they ended half way between his shoulder and elbow. He then decided to go to the kitchen and decided to boil some tea for them to drink, they were most likely going to talk for a while.

Just as the tea was finished boiling, Yoruichi came down the stairs, wearing a shirt.

"So, I imagine we'll be talking for a bit," she guessed,

"Well, it's not every day that I find you mortally wounded at my doorstep," he pointed out.

"Are you sure, don't you have school or something?" she asked,

"Tomorrow's a Saturday," he explained, holding out a cup of tea to her.

"Ah, so we can stay up late," she surmised, accepting the cup of tea.

"So, I have to know, what happened out there?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you went out to fight or capture hollow, either your not as strong as you use to be, or hollows are stronger than before. The Yoruichi I know can't be taken down by a few hollows," he explained,

"You have so much faith in me, I'm touched. But you're right, the hollow I went after were no match for me what so ever. It was almost sad. But just as I had it cornered, something or someone else hit me from behind."

"I'm assuming that's what wounded you."

"Yeah, I'm not sure what or who it was, but it didn't feel like a hollow to me, I could tell that much before it sucker punched me."

"I think I've met your attacker. While I was fighting off the hollow, at the very end, someone attacked me from behind. I think it was a Shinigami."

"What? Are you sure," she asked, her eyes wide,

"Well, not totally sure, all I saw was a black kimono. Its possible it wasn't a Shinigami," he replied.

"Do you really believe that?"

"Not really,"

Yoruichi sighed and tapped the rim of her tea cup.

"I don't suppose you've reconsidered helping me?"

"I'm, not sure," he replied nervously, ready for her to explode on him again. To his surprise, it never came, instead the purple haired woman smiled.

"Well, that's better than last time," she said,

"You say that like I'm sick or something."

"You are, sort of. Sick in the head," she joked,

"You wound me," he said, smiling just a bit.

"But what do you intend to do?" he asked, "you're not in the best of shape to go out hunting hollows."

"Don't worry about it, I won't let my guard down again," she assured, "besides, I've had much worse."

"Well…at the very least, rest for tonight," he suggested, his eyes unable to come off the table,

"If you ask me with that face, I've got no choice but to say yes," she chuckled, she finished her tea off and tried to stand up but immediately faltered.

Kuroda immediately rushed to her side, supporting her as best he could, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, though she visibly winced, "must be worse than I thought."

Yoruichi attempted to take a step forward only to falter once more.

"You're not fine," said Kuroda, with that he scooped her up bridal style,

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Carrying you," he stated bluntly,

Without another word he walked her upstairs and put her in the guest room's bed.

"You can stay as long as you need to," he told her as he pulled the blue blanket over her, "if you need anything, just let me know."

"I need you to help me hunt down the hollow," she muttered,

After a long pause, he said, "maybe."

He flicked off the light and turned to leave, about halfway to the door, Yoruichi said, "what, not kiss good night?"

Kuroda snorted in amusement and left without another word.

Back at his own room he slipped into his gigai and went to bed, falling to slumber the moment his head hit the pillow. But though he slept, he found no rest.

_Dream_

"_well, I think that's the last of them," said a grizzly voice,_

_He was in a forest, the wind blew through his hair, and there was the smell of blood, so much blood. He felt something drip down his cheeks, his eyes hurt, the drops tasted salty._

"_Good job," said the voice again, "maybe next time you can do it while looking like a man,"_

_The voice let out a huge laugh, "but your alive, that's always good. But of course you have to be alive, the only one who's going to kill you is me! HAHAHA!"_

_Kuroda felt something tighten in his chest, his breaths were deep and hard on his throat. His hands were weak and shaking, his face felt warm._

"_Well, time to go back," said the voice,_

_Kuroda stifled a scream, he felt himself push off his foot and run forward, to where he did not know._

_All he knew, was he blacked out._

Kuroda woke with a start and a splitting headache. His chest heaved up and down as he gasped for breath, his forehead dripped with cold sweat.

He weakly pushed himself up, he cupped his forehead in his hands, his breaths still heavy. Clumsily he reached for the clock and brought it up to his face.

7:00 AM

He'd overslept.

Putting the clock back on his table he got out of bed and went to the bathroom to take a very cold shower.

Yoruichi woke up an hour after Kuroda, she, unlike him, had had a great rest. Sitting up in bed as cracks of light shone through the blinds, she stretched herself out on the bed like a cat.

"Ah, haven't slept like that in a while," she said as she swung her legs onto the floor and stood up.

She went to the bathroom and splashed a bit of water on her face,

"heh, has such a nice house," she commented, "I could get used to sleeping here."

After cleaning herself up she went downstairs. Already hearing Kuroda making breakfast.

"What smells so good?" she asked,

"Usual," she heard,

As soon as she sat at the table she was served a bowl of rice, some grilled fish, noodles, and sushi.

"Thanks, this looks great," she said as she picked up her chopsticks, she turned to ask him to join her but stopped when she saw him.

"You, on the other hand, don't look all that great."

"Thanks," he mumbled before going back to the stove.

"Hey, you alright?" she asked, genuinely concerned.

"Rough night."

"Jeez, maybe you should go back to bed," she suggested,

"I'll be fine," he murmured, as he did the dishes.

After finishing her breakfast, Yoruichi offered to help do the dishes, though Kuroda immediately turned her down. He then asked to see her injuries, with a very red face.

As Yoruichi had to take off her shirt to do that.

By now the bandages had become damp with blood and needed to be changed.

"The wounds have healed since yesterday," he said as he applied fresh bandages, "but they aren't completely closed yet."

"Will it hamper my fighting?" she asked,

Kuroda paused before answering, "not by much, you might feel some discomfort or be a bit tender, but you should have the same amount of mobility."

"Good," she said, "so, what's your answer?"

"About what?" he asked,

"Don't play dumb," she ordered,

Kuroda sighed, packing away the medical supplies, "I still need time to think."

"Come on, is the answer really that hard?" she asked,

"For me? Yes, it's very hard," he answered.

"Fine, but I'm heading out right now," she said as she stood up, "with, or without you."

"Alright," he replied, "just…be careful out there, you're one of the only friends I have."

"Kuroda…right," she said,

A moment later, he heard the door shut behind her.

The rest of the day was very dull, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't stop thinking about the situation he was in. Answering yes, felt like he'd be giving up on his convictions. Answering no, felt like betraying a friend. Both hurt.

By lunch time, Kuroda found himself back and Kisuke's shop.

"Hello Kuroda," said Tessai from behind the counter,

"Hey Tessai, just here to see the boss," he said before moving on. It wasn't long till he found Kisuke, he was eating, again.

"Er herr Krrrda," said Kisuke with a mouth full of food,

"Kisuke, swallow," ordered Kuroda, Kisuke nodded and amazingly swallowed his whole mouthful of food.

"So, what's up," he asked,

"Not much," said Kuroda,

"well, you only come by when you need something, what is it this time?" he asked,

Kuroda sighed, "Kisuke, I'm stuck, I don't know what to do."

"What do ya mean?" he asked, picking his ear out,

"Will you please stop doing that? I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you," he growled,

"You're always trying to be serious," pointed out Kisuke

"There's a good reason for that."

"Yeah, so, what's the problem?" he asked,

"Well…you know how I've never forgiven soul society after that little incident."

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeees."

"Well, Yoruichi-"

"Whoa wait, you saw Yoruichi?"

"Uh, yes."

"She went to see you but no me? HA! Tessai owes me 5 bucks," grinned Kisuke,

"Kisuke focus," growled Kuroda, "she asked me to help her hunt some, strange hollow."

"And, how'd it go?"

"Well, I couldn't do it. That would be helping out soul society. So I turned her down, she got, upset."

"And?"

"Well then I felt, kind of…I don't know,"

"Guilty?"

"Maybe." He paused, "well then I talked to some of my friends. They all think I should help."

"You talked to them about our stuff? Like, soul stuff?"

"Not directly."

"Oh...okay please continue,"

"Okay, so just yesterday, Yoruichi shows up at my door, wounded and bloody. I help her out, we have…one of those moments that we used to have back then."

"Uh huh,"

"Now…I don't know. I got nothing."

"I don't see the problem," said Kisuke.

"What! Even you aren't that thick headed! I have to either betray my convictions or my friend what part of that is not a problem!" he yelled,

"Kuroda," said Kisuke, his face blank and serious.

Kuroda immediately calmed down, Kisuke was being, serious.

Before he could speak, Kisuke suddenly brought his fist into Kuroda's face.

"Agh," yelled Kuroda, holding his nose, "what did you do that for?"

"Because you're being an idiot!" answered Kisuke, "Is this really such a hard question for you? Do you think you're the only one that left soul society because they didn't agree with what they did? I left for that same reason, Yoruichi left for that reason!"

"Well, yeah," he said, a little embarrassed, "but, I've given up on humanity too."

"Then why haven't you killed them?"

"Uh," he said, "you…told me not to?"

"That's a lie, if you really went berserk, you know as well as I do that I'd never be able to stop you."

"Does it really matter? Just because I don't destroy them doesn't mean I still think they can be saved. Besides, you guys still…believe…"

"I'm not going to tell you what to do, my friend," said Kisuke quietly, "because you should already know."

**Ugh, that took me a while. That's a lie. It actually took me under 8 hours, which is pretty good.**

**I hope you like the story so far. You guys need to review. In fact, everyone reading this story, NEEDS TO REVIEW! Do you know why? I saw a story, that had only 2 chapters, and it had like 50 reviews. I have 5 chapters, please, someone tell me, is their something wrong with this picture!**

**Okay, rant is over.**

**But seriously, please review, it puts a smile on my face. **


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Bleach is owned by Kubo Tite, I only own the characters that I have made, I also own an iphone.

Chapter 6

For My Friend

"**A single rose can be my garden… a single friend, my world"-Leo Buscagalia**

It was night in Karakura town, the star shone brightly in the sky, the moon caste a pale light across the buildings. The residents were asleep, safely tucked into their beds.

But for Yoruichi, there would be no such rest.

She had left Kuroda's in the early afternoon. He had invited her to stay for lunch but, she wouldn't have been able to eat anyway. Her stomach was knotted with guilt.

She doubted he would have eaten either, he looked absolutely tortured that afternoon, even more so then usual. It broke her heart to see him in that condition, it was only made worse by the fact that she was probably the cause of it.

She had asked for his help, knowing his stance on the world and soul society. The way his eyes had looked when she had first gone to him, they were cold, full of hate, and deprived of emotion.

His eyes the second time, were like that of a hurt child, one that was in need of comfort but was only given emptiness.

And then there was that one time he'd hugged her, it had been sudden and short, but passionate. He'd spoken with a voice she didn't even know he had.

It had given her…a warm feeling. She wished that it had lasted longer.

"I'm so sorry Kuroda," she whispered to herself, "I wish that I didn't need to ask you."

She tugged on the collar of her shirt, bringing it up a bit higher to protect her from the cold wind. If there was one good thing about clothes, it would have been forced herself to focus on the mission, it would do her no good to have her mind clouded when she came in contact with the hollow.

She'd picked the highest building she could find when she'd started out, her eyes scanned the lower buildings for any sign of the hollow, while her mind searched for its reiatsu. She could just barely feel it, it was faint but it was there. She just couldn't pinpoint it, this thing was highly adept at hiding itself even when out of a human's body.

Her eyes narrowed, she began to feel it out better. It was close, very close. Her eyes caught a flicker of movement just below her on the top of a convenience store.

She sprang into action, leaping from the top of the building she dived through the air at overwhelming speeds. The wind rushed through her hair and across her face, every now and then she'd see flickers of movement across the buildings.

Like a cat, she landed perfectly on the top of a gas station. Chasing the movement in front of her, she rounded a corner around a sushi shop, catching a glimpse of what looked like a tail. Definitely a hollow.

'You're not getting away'. She doubled her speed, quickly closing the gap between them. It seemed to notice the woman that was quickly catching up to it, as it suddenly leapt into the air in a vain attempt to through her off. No such luck.

Using shunpo she easily caught up, but was still too far to catch it. As fast as she was, it still managed to be able to evade her. Had it not been a hollow, she might have actually considered this fun.

But this was no time for fun, she had to trap this thing before it got away from her again.

"Hado 31: Shakkaho" she shouted, a red ball of kido shot from her outstretched arm. It flew through the air and just barely missed the hollow, hitting the ground next to it.

"Damn!" she fired another shot, again barely missing her target.

"This thing has eyes on the back of its head," she muttered in anger, not only that, it seemed to be picking up speed. The gap between them was slowly but surely getting wider. She pushed herself harder and managed to close some of the lost distance.

The hollow suddenly sharply turned left, then vaulted, over a house and onto the next. Yoruichi matched it's feat with a simple shunpo teleportation over the house, putting her high in the air.

An idea popped into her head.

"Hada 31: Shakkaho!" she chanted, firing another blazing ball of red kido. The attack overshot the hollow and detonated directly in front of it. As she had hoped the hollow forced itself into a screeching halt.

Yoruichi grinned, something all warriors had to overcome when they trained with speed, was how to turn quickly without stopping or tripping.

Wasting no time, she charged forward. As soon as she was in range, she lashed out with her foot a delivered a solid kick to the hollow's ribcage.

The force of the powerful blow sent the hollow barreling into a wall and creating a huge crater. Debris and dust flew through the air, obscuring her view of the hollow. But she could sense it none the less.

An inhuman growl broke through the night. As the dust cleared, Yoruichi got her first good look at the hollow.

It seemed to vaguely reptilian. It had a lizard like snout covered by a similar mask. It's skin was scaly and a dull grey color mixed with a few blotches of brown and a streak of red running down it's back.

In addition it stood on all fours, and a long tail with a cruel looking spike at the end.

It growled again, drool dripped from its gaping maw.

"My, aren't you ugly," she muttered, though she doubted it could understand her.

Suddenly, it let out a low, demonic laugh.

"You're the one that's been following me all this time aren't you?"

Yoruichi's eyes widened with surprise, it could talk. Only hollows of the highest levels had the ability to talk, meaning this hollow was probably an Adjucah, since it lacked a humanoid form. That would explain why it was able to conceal itself so well, but it didn't explain the strange power that it held.

"Surprised?" it asked, "you should be."

"Where did you come from?" she demanded,

"From where all hollows come from I suppose," it answered smugly.

"Don't play with me! How did you gain the ability to devour the souls of living humans? Where did you gain the power to possess their bodies? Tell me!"

"Heh, do you really think I'll tell you?" he asked, "you Shinigami types are all the same. You ask a question and expect to be given an answer, like it's some sort of unspoken law."

"Stop stalling, how did you acquire these powers?" she demanded,

"I don't have to answer to your kind," it replied,

"Fine," she said, "then I guess I'll just beat it out of you."

"Go ahead and try," it taunted,

Without warning it charged forward with impressive speed, but to Yoruichi, he might as well have been moving in slow motion.

She immediately disappeared from sight,

"What?" said the stunned hollow before suddenly receiving a powerful kick to the face, sending it flying across the roof, using shunpo again, Yoruichi reappeared behind the hollow and grabbed it by the tail. She spun herself in a circle over and over again until she finally let go and sent the hollow flying into the street.

The hollow's collision with the road sent rubble and dust flying into the air, Yoruichi landed softly on the road, a safe distance away from the crater.

A weak groan of pain came from the hollow as it stubbornly attempted to stand up. As the dust cleared, Yoruichi saw that it was badly damaged, it was amazing that the thing was moving at all.

"Finished already?" she asked, "I expected more from a hollow that had devoured so many souls."

"D-damn you," it growled, faltering slightly as it tried to move forward,

Yoruichi stepped forward to finally finish it off, but suddenly stopped.

An inhuman scream tore through the night, Yoruichi's eyes widened as dozens of hollows suddenly started springing forth through their garganta.

Before long, an army of lesser hollows had surrounded the purple haired woman.

'what? How did the hollows find me? Did they smell my reiatsu?' she wondered, 'No, I was careful, they shouldn't have been able to smell me out. But then how did they get here?'

Across the street from her, the battered hollow let out a small chuckle.

"You," she concluded, "you called them here didn't you?"

"Heh, this may come as a surprise to you, but I happen to be very important to someone else," it explained,

Yoruichi remained silent as the hollows glared at her hungrily.

"What's the matter?" asked the hollow, "scared?"

A moment passed, and Yoruichi smirked, "not really."

A moment later, the entire hollow army burst like bags of blood. All of them falling easily to Yoruichi's masterful shunpo, none of them had even been able to mount a decent defense.

As the last hollow finally disappeared, Yoruichi still stood in the same spot as though she had never moved.

"I hate it when enemies underestimate me," she said with a sly smile on her face, "I almost feel sorry for them when I prove them wrong."

"So, let me ask you," she said, turning to the lone hollow, "are you scared?"

A long pause passed, before the hollow suddenly erupted with laughter, Yoruichi immediately frowned.

"What's so funny?"

"Heh, you think you've won?" it asked, "not even close, the armies of HuecoMundo…"

As it spoke hundreds of Hollows appeared again, surrounding Yoruichi once more, among the many hollows, at least five Gillian walked through as well.

"Are endless!" it finished,

Yoruichi scowled, just how many hollow would jump to this one's defense? Someone was definitely pulling the strings behind this, someone much more powerful than a hollow, but who?

"If that's the way it's going to be, then fine," she growled,

Together, the horde of hollows charged the loan woman. Yoruichi immediately disappeared, reappearing above the hollows, she swooped down and began to lash out left and right.

Each strike brought another hollow to their demise. Her movements were an unending dance as she bended and twisted into deadly combinations, performing feats of incredible speed.

She tore through hollow after hollow with her bare hands, their flesh parting before her blows as if their skin were but paper and their bones were made of sand.

"You hollows put up less of a fight then my former subordinates from the 2nd squad!" she taunted before punching her hand through another hollow's skull.

"If this is HuecoMundo's army, then I fear for its future," she said as she swept her foot, taking out multiple hollows at once.

One of the Gillians opened its mouth and began charging it's cero, but it was far too slow.

Yoruichi quickly shunpo'd in front of it's face with her arm drawn back, with a single punch, she smashed its skull, killing it instantly.

She jumped to the next Gillian and easily smashed through it's chest, the overgrown hollow fell back, crushing any unfortunate hollow stupid enough to stand near it.

"Child's play," she mocked,

The hollows were much more weary of the purple haired woman, taking their time to encircle her instead of simply charging head on to their deaths.

The remaining Gillian began to charge their cero, Yoruichi smirked, and in a flash, they were all dead.

"Hm, not much of a challenge," she said, tugging on the collar of her shirt, "now, where is that hollow?"

"Here!" it yelled, Yoruichi turned to see the reptile like hollow charging a bright red cero in it's jaws.

"Ha, did you learn anything from watching those Gillian?" she asked, using shunpo she teleported behind the hollow, a smile on her face as she brought a drop down kick on its back. Her foot came down with enough power to break a building in two as it came into contact with...nothing.

In an instant, the hollow was suddenly gone.

'What? Where did he-?'

"Hahaha!"

Yoruichi suddenly noticed the red glow from behind her, she turned her head to see the hollow that had been in front of her but a moment ago, it's cero ready to fire.

"Good bye, shinigami," it said,

It fired it's cero, it was too close to dodge and she couldn't bring up a defense in time to counter it. She closed her eyes and waited for it to strike her.

But it never came, in fact the bright red light and the heat seemed to be lessening. Eventually it died out entirely.

"what are you doing?"

Yoruichi's eyes shot open, she recognized the voice all too well. Standing in front of her, cape billowing in the air, hair swaying slightly from the wind, and his katana resting on his shoulder.

Kuroda

!*(#*(&$()*#^&%^&*)#$(*&#*($&&%^&*#&(*!&$

Kisuke Urahara sat in his room with a first aid kit, wincing in pain as he carefully bandaged his right hand.

He sighed, "Kuroda sure does have a hard head, both figuratively and physically,"

"Still, I got through to him," he said happily, "maybe I should punch him in the face more often, it certainly seems to work."

The shop owner chuckled at his own joke, finally finishing the bandaging of his hurt fist.

"Then again, I don't think my fist could handle the abuse," he sobbed,

"Still," he said, suddenly cheering up, "it's nice to see I can still have an influence on my friend. I hope he makes up with Yoruichi, it will be so nice to have the three of us all together again."

Reaching in to his pocket he took out a pink swirly lolipop. He tore the wrapping off and shoved it into his mouth, sucking on it with much frevor.

"I should go and reserve a spot with a wedding planner, its never to early to start planning."

"Boss?"

Kisuke turned to see Tessai at the door, a large book in his hands.

"You needed this?"

"Oh...right, I'd almost forgot," he said solemly, he reluctantly took the book from the big man's hands, he looked at it as if it were an insult to literature everywhere.

After a long moment, he finally opened the book, and flipped through it until he came to the first empty page.

He grabbed an pen and began to write.

"Log 556, Subject: Kuroda. Kuroda had shown..."

!##$%#$!^&#$&*$#^

Yoruichi blinked rapidly as she stared at the man who had saved her life. Not just because she had expected Kuroda to say no to her pleas for help, but because of his face.

He was smiling. Not just a normal smile, like he did when he was around his friends and making light conversation. This smile was full of excitement, it was the smile that a child wore when he finally got to go on a roller coaster, or when an athlete found out they had gotten into the Olympics. And his eyes, full of life in contrast to his usual cold and gloomy glare. It was almost as if he were a different person all together.

"Hey! I asked you a question, why are you just standing there?" he shouted lively, again very out of character.

"Uh...I-"

"Doesn't matter," he decided, lowering his hand from stopping the cero, "you should be glad I got here when I did. I expected better from you."

"Uh...well...I-"

"Is this the hollow you were after?" he calmly asked, pointing to the reptilian soul.

"uh...yes," she replied, finally regaining her composure,

"Hmph, not very good looking is he?"

"I guess not," she said with a chuckle,

Yoruichi felt a large smile touch her lips, though she may not know why, Kuroda was acting differently. Much more like his old self when they were younger. He had the same look that had once said, "I can do anything I need to do."

With his hand on his katana, his devilish smile, wild eyes, and cloak billowing in the wind, he looked very heroic. Yoruichi was glad for her skin tone, it was much easier to hide her blush.

"Another one?" asked the hollow, finally breaking the silence,

"So you can talk," observed Kuroda, "you're small, you can move and super high speeds, and your reiatsu is higher then even that of a Gillian's. You're definitely an adjucah. Though you may well be on your way to becoming a vasto lord."

"Why thank you," said the hollow arrogantly, "its so refreshing to find an enemy with a brain."

"But, your still weak," Kuroda added,

"WHAT DID YOU SAY SCUM!" roared the hollow, "YOU KNOW NOT WHAT YOU SPEAK OF, I'LL RUN YOU DOWN, BREAK YOUR LEGS AND SUCK THE MARROW FROM YOUR BONES! THEN ONLY WHEN YOU BEG FOR MERCY WILL I-"

"Will you what?" asked Kuroda from behind the hollow,

The beast's eyes widened with fear, letting out a small gasp of fear as if slowly turned it's head to the man at it's side. The slow realization that it was out ranked dawned upon it to late, as Kuroda lifted one of his feet and brought it crashing down on the hollow's hind leg.

There was a sickening snap as Kuroda's foot smashed through the bone's as if they were but twigs. The hollow let out a soul shattering howl of pure suffering.

"If it had not been for those other hollows, Yoruichi would have killed you hours ago."

"You bastard," it weakly growled, "I'll get you for this."

"How? You are a being that is reliant on all four of it's legs to effectively move. You lost this battle, the moment I broke your leg."

"Now, you will tell us the origin of your powers."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" it defended,

"Don't lie to me," growled Kuroda, his previous demeanor replaced with the steely cold one that he often wore, "if I don't get the right answer next time, I'm going to cut of your legs."

"I'd do it if I were you," commented Yoruichi, "when Kuroda makes a promise he always follows through."

"Shut up you whore!" growled the hollow, big mistake.

A second later, its let back leg was broken.

"ARGH" it screamed, "what was that for?"

"You insulted my friend," Kuroda coldly explained, his eyes narrow with a hidden anger, "if you do so again, you may find yourself in a very uncomfortable position."

The hollow seemed to pale at Kuroda's words, it held a defiante glare until it finally slouched in defeat.

"Alright," it said reluctantly, "I was-"

There was a loud crack in the air as the hollow suddenly disappeared into thin air. Both shinigami stood stunned as they stared at the empty space that had once held their prize. Both quickly snapped out of their daze and desperately looked around for any sign of the hollow.

"I apologize," said a deep voice,

The two of them turned to the sky above them to see a large dark skinned man, wearing what looked like a white duster and a pair of large black wraparound sunglasses.

"I realize this probably is a disappointment to you," he said, indicating the large hollow he had somehow managed to heft onto his shoulder. "But I can't let you have this hollow."

A moment later, the man was gone, leaving behind only a loud cracking sound.

"Which way did he go?"

"That way," said Yoruichi,

Kuroda turned to the direction that Yoruichi was pointing and found he could just barely make out a tall white figure, getting further and further away.

"Lets go!"

"Right!"

Together the two of them used shunpo, quickly beginning to gain ground on their target and the strange man that had kidnapped it.

"So who do you think this guy is?" asked Kuroda as he ran alongside Yoruichi,

"I'm not sure, but I don't think he's a shinigami," she replied,

"Look, just because he's not wearing black, doesn't mean we shouldn't rule out the possibility that-"

"It's not that," she cut him off, "but his reiatsu, is definitely different. Its unlike anything I've ever felt before."

Kuroda took a moment from the conversation and found that his friend was right, the man's reiatsu felt nothing like that of a shinigami's, more like that, of a hollow.

"Do you think," he started, "he could be..."

"We shouldn't rule out the possibility," she replied, "but until we catch up with him, we can't be sure."

"Right! Lets go!"

The two of them picked up their speed, by now the black man noticed the two souls tailing behind him that were quickly getting closer and closer. This hardly bothered him.

With a simple snap of his fingers, dozens of hollows came to his aid, ready to tear the annoying pursuers into pieces.

Though he knew that the low level soldiers would do not be able to kill the two behind him, he knew they would at the very least slow them down. He was wrong.

"Ugh, what is is with all these people being able to summon hollows?" growled a very annoyed Kuroda. Drawing AnShen from it's hilt, he easily sliced through the first two hollows that were foolish enough to charge them. Yoruichi followed up by burning four more with a simple kido spell.

Neither one of them slowed down for even a second as they effortlessly cut through the swath of hollows blocking their path.

"Damn," muttered the black man, the hollows hadn't even slowed them down.

"Whats the mat-t-t-ter, Soniku?" asked a jittery voice just beside him,

The man turned to see a lanky looking man with dark blue hair that jutted straight up so that it looked almost like a stalagmite. His electric blue eyes were narrow and slanted, his skin as pale as the clothes on his back, a pointed nose and a smile that simply screamed crazy.

"Otoko? What are you doing here?" he asked,

"Boss was getting t-t-tired of waiting for you to go save that thing's s-s-sorry hide`, so he sent me," explained the unstable man,

"I'm perfectly capable of handling this," responded Soniku, resentment dripping from his voice.

"Oh please, you've still got these two m-m-meddlers on your tail, I'll get rid of them for you," said Otoko arrogantly.

Jumping forward, past his dark skinned comrade. The skinny psycho turned himself in mid air so that he was facing the two shinigami pursuing them.

Pressing his two wrists together and cupping both of his hands, he stretched his arms forward. A dark blue ball of concentrated reiatsu began to form in the middle of his hands, quickly growing bigger and bigger until it was the size of a basketball.

"Eat this!" yelled the man, a brilliant beam of reiatsu lanced towards the two incoming shinigami.

"Whats that?" asked Kuroda when he saw the incoming attack,

"Cero!" announced Yoruichi,

Kuroda dashed forward and positioned himself between his friend and the incoming attack, never once breaking pace or showing a hint of fear.

Bringing AnShen over his head in ready position, he waited for the incoming beam to come closer.

The man behind the mean laughed manicaly as he watched his own attack race towards the two targets, fully convinced that it would render them into dust.

Just as the beam came into range, Kuroda swung AnShen in a powerful overhead one handed strike. For a moment the two powers were in a stalemate, but only for a moment. In a fraction of a second the victor was decided, the beam of reiatsu deflected off AnShen and sped off into the night sky.

"Well what do ya know?" grinned Okoto, suddenly very excited,

"Hey, psycho boy," shouted Soniku, now standing in an opened senkaimon, "its time to go!"

"Psh, and just when I thought I might finally get to have some fun," he complained before stepping into senkaimon. Turning to face his companion as the gate's closed, he began to feel a rising sense of annoyance, nothing exciting ever happened, and now that he had finally found someone powerful to fight, he had to go.

Behind him the gates slammed shut.

"You'll get another chance man," said Soniku,

"I don't want another chance, I wan-"

The two turned to look behind themselves, just in time to see a fist smash through the gate. The hand gripped the side of the hole it had created, before they knew it, the door was ripped clean off its hinges. In its place, stood the man wearing black, a katana resting on his shoulder.

A cold and evil look on his face, he stared at both of them, his glare cutting through them as well as any sword.

"Hi there," he growled,

For a moment, the two men were too stunned to even respond.

How did he get through? Was all they could wonder to themselves, not only that, but he exerted an enormous amount of reiatsu, it was beginning to effect even them.

A hand tapped Kuroda on the shoulder, he turned to see Yoruichi, her breath somewhat labored.

"Oh," he said, as though suddenly realizing something, a moment later and the reiatsu lifted from their shoulders.

"Sorry about that, I sometimes forget."

"It's okay," said Yoruichi as she walked in through the gate and took in their surroundings.

The gate had taken them to what looked like a long corridor with white marble for the walls and floor. At the end of the corridor was a simple door, it wasn't anything special, but it was also the only other thing in this dimension.

"I think it's time you started talking," announced Yoruichi, snapping the two men out of their trance, "who are you, and what do you have to do with that hollow?"

"We don't gotta answer you bitch," spoke the dark skinned man,

"Well, at-t-t-t least I get to kill you now," said the pale one,

"Not yet Okoto," said the dark skinned man,

"Aw come one! I j-j-just want a little fight Soniku!"

"Not yet," said Soniku, "first we deliver the package, then we deal with them."

"Ugh, fine," said Okoto with much irritation,

Using their own high speed technique, the two of them teleported over to the door at the end of the hallway and walked through the door.

The two shinigami prepared to give pursuit, when the wall suddenly began to shift as though made of liquid.

"What the-"

Kuroda was interrupted by a claw suddenly springing through the wall, he jumped back just in time, only to fall into the range of another claw.

"Run for it!"

*#&)(*#^)(!$*&58927#^

Okoto was fairly annoyed by now, he had not been denied a fight just once, but twice! That was just infuriating! He glared out of the corner of his eye at his partner, the special hollow slung on his shoulder.

"What's so damn special about this experiment?" he decided to ask, "it doesn't seem like anything special."

"I don't ask the boss questions," replied Soniku, "I just follow his orders and keep my mouth shut, ya dig?"

"Whatever," he muttered, continuing his walk down the very spacious hallway. Everything here was white, it pissed him off. They finally reached a door and walked on through; Okoto paused for a moment as he heard the unmistakable sounds of fighting behind them.

He brushed it off. If they couldn't get out of that hallway, they weren't worth fighting.

"Oh, your back," said a very smooth voice, the two of them looked up to see a man in a black kimono standing on a flight of stairs that circled around a tall platform in the middle of the room.

The man himself was a lanky thing, even fragile looking. He had messy, wild looking black hair and a hunched back. At his side, a katana with a purple hilt in a green sheath.

"Henjin," said Soniku, "we've got the package."

"I see that," he said, a ravenous look in his eye, "could you go set him on the table up their? I'm almost done with the preparation."

"Preparation for what?" asked Okoto,

"You'll see, Arrancar," replied Henjin, a moment later and Soniku used sonido to disappear,

A moment after Soniku had disappeared; a small device on Henjin's wrist began beeping.

"Interesting," mumbled Henjin,

"What-t-t-t is it?" asked Okoto,

"It seems you will have your fight after all," replied Henjin,

#*^%3#&*#^$&*#^&*

Yoruichi and Kuroda stood leaning against the wall, trying to catch their breath from escaping that deadly hallway.

"Lets, never do that again," said Kuroda through gasps of breath.

"Well, how was I supposed to know what was in there?" asked Yoruichi,

The claws that had shot out of the walls had been dipped in some sort of poison, not just any normal poison. Some sort that had caused their reiatsu to suddenly become uncontrollable, it had played hell with their ability to use shunpo and as such they had to rely on their own skills for some time.

"I haven't seen something that strange, since Kisuke invented gigai's," commented Kuroda, finally having regained his energy.

Yoruichi nodded in agreement. "Our enemy is smart,"

"Whoever that is," said Kuroda, "we don't even know who we're fighting."

"You didn't have to come," pointed out Yoruichi,

"I know," said Kuroda, a small grin on his face, "but I'm here, so it doesn't really matter."

With that he started walking down towards the door at the end of this second hallway.

"Hey wait up," called Yoruichi as she ran after him, "you know, I have been wondering what your reasons are for coming to my rescue."

"Because I'm a hero," replied Kuroda,

Silence hung in the air for a long moment before Yoruichi finally asked, "really?"

"No."

"Too bad, you've got the cape and everything," she joked, "but in all seriousness, why did you come to my aid. I would have been fine on my own."

"Uh huh, so you were standing in front of the cero on purpose," he replied,

"I would have been fine," she assured, "that attack barely had any bite behind it. A few torn clothes maybe, but that's hardly a problem for me."

Though he tried not to, Kuroda caught himself imagining Yoruichi with torn clothes, panting, sweating…with cat ears.

By that point, his face had turned bright red.

"Ugh,"

"What?" she asked,

"Nothing."

"You were thinking of something perverted weren't you?"

"Shut up," he growled, refusing to look her way,

"Oh come on, you're a guy. It's only natural," she said casually, "besides, since it's about me, I'm actually flattered."

"I never said it was about you," he defended,

"You don't really know any other girls," she pointed out,

"Yes I do!"

"Who?"

"Uh… never mind,"

"That's what I thought," she said victoriously.

"Why me?" he asked no one in particular,

"Now back to the original question, why help me?"

This time Kuroda stopped, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and turned to face his friend. He stopped so abruptly that she nearly bumped into his chest. Kuroda being 6'2, she had nearly had to stare straight up at the man as he loomed over her.

His eyes connected with her own, his face a myriad of different emotions and thoughts. He seemed pained, yet happy. Peaceful but tormented.

"Because you're my friend," he finally answered, "and because…you're very special to me. I need no other reason to help you."

With that said he spun around and returned to walking down the hallway.

"I…" she stopped speechless, again thankful for her skin tone. That had probably been the nicest thing Kuroda had ever said to her, she could help but blush a little.

"Are you coming?" he yelled back to her,

"Uh, yeah, I'll be right there," she said before running to catch up.

They soon reached the door at the end of the hall.

"Well, nothing to lose," commented Kuroda, drawing AnShen, he swiftly sliced the door open. Then calmly walked through, Yoruichi closely by.

"Welcome," said a voice, the two of them looked up to see the two men they had chased standing on a flight of stairs, in between them stood the owner of the voice.

"We've been expecting you," he said.

"You're, a shinigami!"

**So how was the chapter? Good, medium, bad? You better say good!**

**Anyway, next chapter is going to be full of action, some big fights!**

**Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN BLEACH!

Chapter 7

The enemy of my enemy is my friend most of the time, but not this time

"You're a shinigami!"

"A shinigami?" asked the Heijin, "I suppose I could still be classified as that, yes."

"What the hell is a shinigami doing here?" demanded Kuroda, his eyes visibly filled with rage.

"I wish you'd stop calling me that, I don't really consider myself one anymore," replied Heijin calmly,

"What are you talking about?" asked Yoruichi,

Heijin smirked, "you two are shinigami as well aren't you?"

"Hardly," spat Kuroda, "I'd cut myself from soul society long ago."

"Hm, then it seems we share something in common," he announced,

"What are you blathering about?" asked Kuroda, that's when he asked the true question on his mind, "Is Soul Society involved with this?"

"Kuroda! Do you really think that-"

"Quiet Yoruichi," he growled, his face full of primal rage, even his hands seemed to shake with anger.

"Calm yourself," replied Heijin, "I said I did not consider myself a shinigami, and that is because I too have cut myself off from Soul Society. I am like you, a rouge."

Kuroda visibly calmed but obviously shocked to find another rouge.

"Are you the one who created that hollow?" asked Yoruichi, in hopes of getting Kuroda back to the task at hand.

"What makes you think it was created?" asked Heijin almost innocently,

"No hollow has ever had that power before," she replied calmly, "it also mentioned that it was highly important to someone. Plus, once we had it beat, those two appear out of nowhere and snatch it from us. I think it's obvious that that hollow is someone's pet project. Besides, experimentation on hollows is not unheard of. When I was still a captain of the Gotei-13, I knew someone, who particularly enjoyed experimenting on hollow."

A long moment of silence hung in the air, before it was finally broken by a low chuckle.

"My, how entertaining," chuckled Heijin, "I was wrong with my initial assessment. You aren't just brawn; you have some amount of brains. Though I'm afraid I can't say the same for your companion. I'm impressed that you managed to deduce that from the little information that was given to you."

Kuroda, who had by now calmed down considerably, visibly flinched at the comment. Though he humbly accepted the fact that he had been a complete hot head a moment ago, it still hurt his pride that he had let himself lose sight of their original task. In addition, he had spoken rather harshly to Yoruichi.

"So," he finally said, "You admit to the fact that the hollow was created."

"Did I? I suppose I did."

"Did you create it?"

"No, I only helped. As smart as I am, I'm no match for the brilliance that created the magnificent specimen that resides at the top of these stairs."

"And who is this brilliance of which you speak of?"

"Sorry, can't say."

"Then it's obvious that this won't end peacefully," decided Kuroda,

"I think we all knew that from the start," said Heijin happily, "but then again, you aren't that smart. So I applaud you for your realization."

Kuroda ignored that last insult, "just one more question"

"Hm?"

"Your two friends, what are they?" he asked,

"I've been wondering myself," said Yoruichi, "I've got a hunch, but I can't be sure."

"Oh? I'd like to hear your idea!"

"Are you two…Arrancar?"

"Well what else c-c-c-could we be?" asked Okoto, "Do we look like shinigami to you?"

"Now, now Okoto, don't be too harsh," said Heijin, "after all, there aren't that many Arrancar in the world."

"Boss man is right Okoto, there are probably only eight of us left," Soniku reminded,

"But, that will soon be remedied," said Heijin as he started walking up the stairs, "Kill them quickly."

"Hey! Get back here!" shouted Kuroda, drawing AnShen he ran forward to chase the rouge shinigami.

"I don't think so!"

Kuroda raised AnShen just in time to block an incoming swing from Okoto. The Arrancar jumped back, only to vanish and reappear behind Kuroda, who again barely blocked an incoming swing from the wild Arrancar.

Okoto began to grin and laugh wildly, he unleashed a flurry of attacks, swinging his sword like a crazed animal and spinning into unorthodox positions. Kuroda managed to block or dodge all of the Arrancar's attacks. He parried another wild swing, as his enemy's sword deflected of his own, he dropped under his enemy's guard and brought AnShen's blade across the Arrancar's chest.

Okoto managed to jump back just as the blade began to make contact, landing a safe distance away from the man. As he stood to savor the thrill of the fight, he noticed something hot and sticky dripping down his stomach. He looked down to see that the shinigami had indeed drawn blood; a thin cut crossed his stomach. It wasn't deep but it was still there.

He couldn't help but smile.

"Your pretty good," he said, "I'll take you on by myself."

"That's great, but you should keep your guard up."

"Huh?"

"He's not the only one here,"

Okoto's eyes widened as he realized he'd forgotten about the woman, his head turned to see the woman ready to deliver a powerful kick to his face.

Then there was the signature sound of sonido. Soniku suddenly appeared just behind Okoto and raised his arm to stop the vicious attack. The dark skinned Arrancar seemed relatively unaffected by the attack.

Yoruichi jumped away as the Arrancar attempted to retaliate with a punch.

"We don't really do two on two battles," said Soniku,

"I will be your opponent," he said to Yoruichi,

"If that's the way you want to play," she smiled,

"Follow me," he said before using sonido to vanish, Yoruichi similarly used shunpo to follow.

"Well, now that we've got no more distractions, lets continue on with the fight."

"Lets." Kuroda made the first move and burst towards his opponent, Their two swords clashed as they slid back together.

Kuroda was the first to break off, he vanished using shunpo and reappeared above Okoto. Raising AnShen he brought down a powerful overhead strike, Okoto raised his own sword in time to block the blow.

The two struggled for dominance as they exerted reiatsu, causing a crater to begin to form in the ground they stood on.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Alright!" shouted Okoto, with lightning speed he used his hand to grab Kuroda by the wrist.

Caught off guard, Kuroda couldn't stop the Arrancar from tossing him over his shoulder. But it did not end there. Okoto raised his hand and fired his blue cero at the still flying shinigami.

Kuroda's hand shot out and grabbed the floor, tugging him back to the ground just in time to catch the cero with his hand and toss it into the ceiling.

"Not bad, you blocked my cero easily," observed Okoto,

Kuroda chose to remain silent.

"S-s-silent warrior huh? Don't pull that t-t-tough guy crap on me," taunted Okoto.

Again, he remained silent.

"Say something already."

Nothing.

Okoto couldn't take this silence. He charged forward at top speed, his sword pulled back and ready to swing. Up ahead he saw that his opponent hadn't even bothered to raise his weapon in defense, that only served to make him even angrier.

"Say something damn it!" he screamed as he swung his sword, he watched as his blade began to slice through the man's stomach, a gleeful smile began to touch his mouth but immediately disappeared when it cut through nothing.

He had but a second to realize that the man was suddenly gone, when an explosion of pain smashed down on his back. He stumbled across the ground, blood seeping from his back.

"That all you got?" he heard Kuroda ask,

He whipped around to face his enemy.

"Damn it, were you just holding back?" he asked,

"If you took time to notice, you'd see that the wound isn't actually that deep."

"Huh?"

"Something negated the strike from my sword," he explained, "so it's not as deep as it actually should be."

"Heh, that would be because of my heirro. All Arrancar have it, it's a layer of reiatsu on our skin that protects us from attacks."

"Sounds useful," he said passively,

"It is," assured Okoto with renewed vigor. The man had been right, the wound was not as deep as he had originally thought.

"Alright, I was just screwing around before, but now I'm serious. I hope you're ready!" he shouted. His reiatsu suddenly spiked, causing even Kuroda to take a small pause to adjust himself.

"This isn't going to be easy," he muttered as he raised his sword.

A moment passed as the two of them stared each other down, waiting for the other to make a move.

The two suddenly clashed in a shower of sparks as their swords smashed into each other again and again. Waves of pressure shot out from them, each time their swords met it caused numerous cracks to form around in the ground beneath them.

Okoto disappeared and reappeared behind Kuroda. The shinigami whipped around to slash the Arrancar across the chest, only to hit thin air.

Okoto had vanished again and reappeared behind Kuroda's back.

"Gotch ya!" he yelled as he brought down his sword.

Kuroda jumped away just in time to dodge the attack, he felt a small sting on his face. Okoto hand managed to land a cut on his cheek, below his right eye.

Okoto gave his enemy no time to rest, he charged forward again, only to vanish just a foot away from Kuroda. The Arrancar reappeared above Kuroda and brought down a flurry of strikes, he landed no hits but managed to push his opponent back.

Using sonido he teleported behind his opponent and performed a powerful horizontal slash. Kuroda once again blocked the attack.

"Block, block and block! Is that all you can do?" he asked as he attacked again. This time, Kuroda blocked by placing his left hand behind his blade while still keeping his right hand on his hilt. The moment their blades made contact, he weakened the strength behind his right and increased the strength behind his left, pushing the tip of his blade forward.

The move caught Okoto off guard and gave him no time to react as the blade cut across his chest. He growled in pain and stumbled away from his opponent.

"Bastard," he muttered,

"You should have been more careful," said Kuroda, "attacking isn't the only way to strike at your opponent."

"Shut up!" yelled Okoto as he charged back into the fight.

Okoto led off by firing a cero. Kuroda caught the blast easily and redirected it into a wall, as soon as he did he found Okoto waiting behind the attack, sword raised above his head and ready to attack.

Kuroda sidestepped the Arrancar's strike, seeing an oppertunity he pulled back his sword and slashed the Arrancar through the ribs.

Okoto stumbled through and nearly dropped to the floor, blood gushed from the grevious wound in his side.

"Nearly got me that time," commented Kuroda.

He suddenly felt a stab of pain and looked down to see a gash down at his own ribs.

"Got ya" said Okoto,

"You turned your blade at the last minute," deduced Kuroda. In his own mind, he replayed the event that took place. He had moved away from the over head strike but the Arrancar had not swung straight down. Instead he had curved his swing so that it had pushed the tip of the blade through Kuroda's ribs. It was a shallow wound, but it showed that he could be hit.

"yeah," replied Okoto as he struggled to stand up, "it's clear to me that I'm not going to win at this level."

"So," he said, standing up and holding his sword in the air, "I'll just get stronger."

"Excuse me?"

"_Denka Suru: Yuu Tori!"_

Okoto was suddenly engulfed in a pillar of dark blue reiatsu so bright Kuroda had to cover his own eyes for fear of blindness.

When the light died down, Okoto's reiatsu had greatly increased but that was not the only change. Okoto now stood transformed, white boney spikes shot out of both of his shoulders, his hands had become armed with sharp talons, and from his back sprouted two powerful wings each bearing only ten giant feathers.

"This is my true power, my resurrection, _Yuu Tori_."

"So you were the one holding back," said Kuroda,

"So w-w-what if I was?" he asked, "doesn't matter now, you're going to fry!"

Small worms of electricity danced around the spikes on Okoto's shoulders,

"I'll show you, how an Arrancar fights, how an Espada fights!" he roared, suddenly taking to flight, "I, Okoto, the Cuatro Espada, will destroy you!"

Kuroda's eyes widened as he felt the amount of reiatsu being exerted by his foe.

The electricity around Okoto's spikes began to increase in intensity.

"DIE!"

)(#*$#*Y()*!#&

The room shook as Yoruichi and the Arrancar clashed against each other. She launched a powerful punch aimed at the man's face only to be stopped by a punch of equal power.

"Impressive," he said as he jumped back, "it took most of my strength to stop that punch."

Yoruichi remained silent as she analyzed the man in front of her. He had yet to draw his katana and had mostly fought her with his hands for the duration of the fight, which meant he was probably mainly a hand to hand fighter. He was strong and had technique, plus good reflex time.

She aimed to test those reflexes of his.

Using shunpo, she appeared above him, performing a powerful drop kick. The Arrancar just barely raised his arms in defense, though he remained standing the kick caused him to stagger ever so slightly. She vanished as soon as she made contact and reappeared in front of him to deliver a punch to his stomach, once again blocking at the last second.

Again and again, she would vanish and reappear where she found holes in his defense, only to be stopped at the last second. She had to change tactics.

Luck smiled upon her as her opponent lashed out with a punch after just blocking her attack. She managed to duck under and grab his wrist with both hands and toss him over her shoulder, smashing him into the ground.

"Ouch," he stated bluntly,

Yoruichi jumped back in case of a counter attack.

"You got me pretty good," said Soniku as he stood up, relatively unscathed except for a small cut on the top of his head.

His glasses now broken, he took them off and threw them away.

"I can barely keep up with you," he said, "I guess that's what I get for focusing more on power and reaction time then I did speed."

"Though you seem to have both," he observed.

"Flattery won't get you anywhere," she replied,

"Not flattery, but you are an impressive opponent," he said.

"I guess I won't be able to take it easy on you," he muttered,

Within seconds he had used sonido to appear inches from Yoruichi. He threw a powerful punch, but Yoruichi dodged as his fist hit the ground and created a huge crater. She countered with a kick to his face, sending him stumbling back.

Unfazed, he attacked again, once again unable to hit his foe and instead hitting the ground, sending out powerful shockwaves and causing the ground to shatter.

'What power' she thought to herself,

Again and again he missed his mark, but something was off. To Yoruichi, he seemed to be getting faster and faster, in addition, it was getting harder for her to maneuver with so much rock sticking up to block her path.

"You getting slower or something?" he asked,

He struck at her again, this time almost hitting her. She grabbed his arm and diverted the punch away from herself and into the ground, while at the same time moving closer to her opponent and kneeing him in the stomach.

The man flew back, but still managed to land on his feet. The Arrancar stretched out his hand and fired a purple cero. Yoruichi flipped to the side, dodging the attack and vanishing, reappearing and delivering a kick to the Arrancar's face.

The Arrancar skidded back into a wall, creating a man shaped crater in it.

"Ow," he said,

He pushed himself out of the wall, despite the beating he had taken; all he had to show for it were a dozen or so minor cuts and bruises.

Drawing back his arm, his hand began to glow with the same purple that his cero had been, though it seemed to be to a different concentration. He pumped his arm forward and fired a ball of compressed reiatsu.

Yoruichi noted that it was much faster, but she still managed to dodge the attack, only to be greeted with another.

Soniku pumped his arms vigorously, sending an unending stream of bala towards the purple haired woman.

The room began to become filled with smoke and dust from the constant explosions.

Soniku waited to see what had been the result. Yoruichi suddenly appeared inches from him, a punch ready and primed.

Just as he had planned.

Like always, he canceled her attack with his own punch. The two clashed, but with a new twist. A bala suddenly struck Yoruichi in the abdomen, throwing her across the room and causing her to crash in the rubble.

"You should have been watching my other hand," he stated,

As he suspected, the woman was still alive. She stood without too much trouble; the blast had torn her clothes, leaving her mid drift exposed.

"Not dead yet?" he asked "you're pretty tough."

"Same to you," she replied, "I've landed dozens of hits on you and you've got almost nothing to show for it."

"Tell me," she said, "which of you is stronger, you or your friend?"

"That would be me," he replied immediately, "You see we are no ordinary Arrancar. We are Espada, the strongest of our kind, the elite of the elite, the best of the best. Each Espada is given an number to signify its rank in Hueco Mundo. My friend Okoto is the Cuatro Espada, the fourth most powerful. Whereas I…"

Raising his right palm and showing it to her "am the Segunda, the second most powerful."

"Yet for all my power, it seems I am unable to defeat you like this," he said, "You are a powerful opponent. As such, I will fight you with my full power."

He reach down to his zanpaktou and drew it from the sheath. He flipped it so that he held it in a reverse grip, and then stretched out his arm towards her.

"_Ganaru: Raio Ou"_

There was a flash of purple light that nearly blinded Yoruichi. When it faded, Soniku stood transformed.

His head was covered in long strips of sharp white bone like material that circled his entire head and followed down his back, much like a lion's mane. His fists were now covered with layers of circular plates that reached all the way to his elbow.

"This is my resurrection, Raio Ou; you will find me, much harder to dodge this time."

Soniku suddenly vanished, before even Yoruichi could react, he was inches from her, his fist cocked back. She quickly pushed off her foot, just barely managing to avoid being crushed by his devastating punch.

The force from the blow sent rock and dust flying everywhere, she thought herself safe when suddenly a sonic boom shot out from his attack and hit her dead on.

She was sent flying back into a wall, feeling wobbly and disoriented.

"Now you see my true power. You can no longer dodge me, no matter how fast you are, you cannot out run sound."

!#(*&$#()&*(#

Kuroda dodged another bold of lightning as it lashed out at him and hit the ground.

"Run little piggy run!" cackled Okoto,

Kuroda dodged again and again as bolts of lightning continuously attacked him, scorching the ground and leaving small fires burning in their wake.

The fight was considerably harder now, not only was he dealing with ranged attacks, his opponent was flying and out of his reach.

"Take this!" he yelled, firing a cero at Kuroda,

Kuroda stopped his running and caught the cero but found it considerably stronger than last time, it took much of his strength to throw it back at the Arrancar, only to miss.

"Ha! Nice try!" taunted Okoto.

Despite his current situation, Kuroda was not worried, he knew he could win.

"Let's see you try this one." Okoto held out his hands so that his palms were facing each other, lighting cracked between them until a giant ball of it formed between his hands.

"_Denkousekka no bakudan" _

Okoto tossed the ball of reiatsu and lightning at his opponent. The attack had some considerable speed behind it as Kuroda was barely able to dodge the attack.

"You're not getting away!"

The ball suddenly detonated right under Kuroda's feet, creating a massive explosion that threw up rubble and smoke through the entire room.

"HAHA! Still alive?"

"Yeah."

Okoto turned to see his foe somehow above him, completely untouched by the attack, with his sword raised above his head.

"Die." Kuroda brought his sword down, heavily smiting the Arrancar down the back, then easily landing on his feet.

Amazingly enough, the Arrancar stayed airborne, though heavily injured now.

"Damn you," he spat, his voice full of venom.

"I'm afraid, you're not much of a match for me," said Kuroda,

"I'm not done yet," said Okoto,

The Arrancar charged another of his _Denkousekka_, firing at his foe the minute it was ready. Kuroda again managed to dodge the attack and the after explosion.

As he reappeared, he barely managed to avoid another lightning bolt. Then another _Denkousekka_, followed by more lightning bolts.

'He's trying to overwhelm me,' he realized, 'more of this and I'll eventually slip up. I guess I'll just have to speed up a little.'

This time when the lightning bolt came, it missed by at least three feet.

"What the-"

Already, Okoto began to notice the increase in speed that Kuroda was displaying, but stubborn as he was, he continued his barrage.

The attacks now seemed to stand no chance of hitting Kuroda, so fast were his movements that there seemed to be clones of him running around the room.

Okoto began to feel confusion muddle his mind as he struggled to keep up with the shinigami, he would fire at one only to find that it was an after image left behind by his opponent.

"I'm not going to lose!" he screamed,

Flapping his wings, he brought himself to the top of the room. The gigantic feathers across his wings began to glow a bright blue, he gave a giant flap and sent feather like shots of reiatsu flying into the ground.

Each missed their shot at Kuroda, most not even coming close.

"Was that supposed to be a special attack?" he asked,

"Just wait for it," grinned Okoto, "this is my ultimate technique, _denki no arashi_"

The reiatsu feathers suddenly began to emit electricity, small amounts at first, then larger and larger.

"DIE!"

The feathers suddenly discharged their electricity into massive barrages of lightning. Kuroda barely had time to react as he dodged the numerous bolts of lightning, this fight had just become harder, for though the lightning bolts struck at random, they were many and each carried large amounts of destructive potential.

"HAHAHA!" laughed Okoto wildly, "I'll fry your body into ashes, no one can escape from this attack."

Kuroda's feet never stopped as he tried to jump out of the way of lightning bolt after lightning bolt, in addition Okoto was still hurling attacks at him from above, this was starting to become an annoying fight.

He started formulating a plan in his mind as he danced through the storm of danger; he had begun to create something that could work when his mind suddenly blanked.

The reason? He had felt Yoruichi's reiatsu suddenly fluctuate, she was in trouble.

No more plans

In a fraction of his second, his brain collected every speck of information around him that could be used to his advantage. Nearest feather, ten feet away. Current speed, 30 miles an hour. Okoto, behind me, current speed 35 miles an hour. Current health, critical.

Kuroda's eyes narrowed as he delved into the depths of his mind and dragged out his inner killer, readying himself for the final blow.

Okoto laughed madly behind him as he fired more lightning bolts. Kuroda sidestepped his most recent attack and spun on his heel, effectively turning him around a full 360 degrees.

The Arrancar quickly caught on and began wildly firing lightning bolts at his incoming foe.

Kuroda picks up his speed as he charged towards his target, he swiftly jumped to the right as a lightning bolt strikes out at him, he dodges again to the left as yet another attempts to kill him. Up ahead one of the feathers released a storm of electricity, Kuroda acts quickly and jumps into the air above the attack.

He's eyes focus on the Arrancar and sees him charging another _Denkousekka. _Steeling himself, he firmly grips his sword.

"EAT THIS!" screams the Arrancar as he tosses the super charged ball of electricity at the incoming shinigami.

Kuroda watches the orb race closer and closer, as it does he brings his sword above his head. Finally the orb is within range, he brings his sword down in a powerful overhead strike. The two collide in a fierce struggle to dominate over the other.

"HAHAHA! You'll die here shinigami!" howled Okoto as he watched his attack collide with his foe,

But his sense of victory was not to last. A single moment later and Kuroda's blade carved through the ball of lightning, dashing through at Okoto.

The Arrancar's eyes widened, for the first time since he had been born as a simple hollow, he felt fear swell up in his heart. The fear told him to move, to run, to live, but for some reason, it made him freeze. This shinigami, was stronger than him, he had been beaten.

He felt a burst of pain explode from his chest. He began to shake uncontrollably, something wet and sticky dripped down his leg.

He looked down to see Kuroda's blade sticking out of his chest, the man himself stood right in front of him, a face of steel and eyes of ice were his image.

"Well," said Okoto before letting out a violent cough, "I g-g-guess I lose."

"Looks like it," agreed Kuroda,

"You could have killed me earlier, but you didn't. Why?"

"I needed to know who we were dealing with," explained Kuroda, "I now understand what an Arrancar truly is."

"Humph, well I can't complain. It was a good fight, the kind I always wanted to have" said Okoto, a grin on his face.

"I hate losing, but if it's someone like you, I'm alright with it," he assured, "but before I die, what's your name?"

A long pause hung in the air, and Okoto began to think that perhaps he might not give it to him.

"I am Kuroda Ryou, former commander of Seireitei's black ops,"

"That so? Than you must've been holding back a bit" concluded the Arrancar,

"Yeah."

"Well," Okoto started as he begun to feel the darkness closing in on him, "you'd best go save your friend."

"I don't think I need to."

Okoto let out one last chuckle; finally he closed his eyes and never opened them again.

#*&$#(*%#(*&#

"You say that I can no longer dodge you?" she asked,

The black man nodded.

"Okay," she conceded.

Soniku was about to ask what she meant by that when she suddenly vanished. He prepared himself for the attack, but was too slow; the woman landed a powerful kick right on his face.

He stumbled backwards, holding his now bloody nose. Not too soon after he felt another strike on his back, sending him tumbling forward. He struggled to stand up, only to have a flurry of punches slam into the top of his head, practically driving him into the ground.

Pain lanced through his body but it was nothing he couldn't handle. Still, it hurt like hell.

After the powerful rain of attacks subsided, he quickly pushed himself up. He looked up just in time to block an incoming drop kick, the woman immediately jumped back after her unsuccessful attack.

"Your power is derived from your attacks," she concluded, "which means if you don't try to hit me, I you can't bring up that power of yours."

"Interesting observation," he replied as he finally stood up, "and you would be correct."

"But I do not need to strike in order to unleash my power," he said.

He pulled his fist back as though he were preparing to punch, Yoruichi readied herself to dodge his attack, he suddenly pumped his fist forward though he was nowhere near her.

At first she was confused but suddenly understood when a massive shockwave exploded from his fist, caught completely off guard she had no time to react and was hit head on by the powerful attack.

The wave rattled her bones and sent her flying into the wall, crashing into it and creating a sizeable hole. She quickly pushed herself out only to be confronted by another; she quickly rolled out of the way.

Though she managed to dodge the wave itself, she still felt it rattle the inside of her head and leave her disoriented.

She barely dodged the man's next attack as he appeared above her, only for her to roll out of the way. She jumped back up only to be attacked by another volley of shockwaves.

"Damn!" she muttered, she had to get back on the offensive that was his only weakness.

Using shunpo she vanished before his next attack and reappeared behind the Arrancar. She locked her hands together and brought down a double hammer fist down onto the man's head.

The Arrancar let out a grunt of pain as he fell to the ground; she followed up with kick to his ribs, sending him sprawling across the floor.

Keeping with the momentum she had built she jumped up above him, ready to stomp him into the ground.

But the Arrancar was ready, rolled onto his back and slammed his fists together. A huge shockwave exploded from him, Yoruichi just barely managed to push herself out of the way.

The Arrancar pushed himself up, bruised and more beat up then before but still going strong.

"You're a tough one aren't you" she asked,

"My heirro is pretty strong," he admitted,

"heirro?"

"Not something I need to tell you, let's just say it protects me well," he replied "you've seen most of my techniques. I suppose it's time to end this."

"Oh? How?"

"With this." The Arrancar took in a deep breath, Yoruichi's eyes widened; Soniku released his breath and let out a supersonic roar that shook the very foundations of the room.

The wave was massive and there was no escaping it.

She had no choice, there was no other option.

"SHUNKO!"

A sudden rush of kido tore through Yoruichi's clothing as it built up on her back and arms. No matter how many times she'd used it, she'd never quite gotten used to the feeling of Shunko; it was almost like having a lightning storm on your back, it made her back feel electrified and raw.

The sonic scream that Soniku had produced glanced off her new kido armor, leaving her completely untouched.

"what!" Soniku shouted, completely dumbstruck that his attack had no effect.

Yoruichi wasted no time; she vanished like the wind and reappeared behind the Arrancar, with a swift kick she sent him hurling through the air like a cannon ball. She vanished again, reappearing ahead of the flying Arrancar. Bringing back her fist she built up an extra amount of kido before smashing it into the Arrancar via uppercut, causing him to collide with the ceiling.

So battered was the man that he couldn't even recover in time to catch himself from falling.

So Yoruichi did it for him, she jumped up to meet her falling opponent and grabbed him by the arm. Then she started spinning, faster and faster, until finally she released him, sending him cannoning into the ground.

Yoruichi followed right after, both of her feet pounded into his back, pushing him even further into the ground. She brought her right foot back up and smashed it back into him, then her left, then her right again, and her left, until it almost looked like she was doing some sort of dance.

She finally stopped and jumped back from the large crater she had made. Waiting to see if the Arrancar would spring back to life.

Amazingly he did, he pushed himself right up from the hole. His body was covered in bruises and major wounds, but he remained alive.

"Damn," he muttered, "you had that kind of power this whole time and didn't use it?"

"Yeah," she replied, "I honestly hoped I wouldn't need it, but you proved to be a strong opponent."

"Thanks," he muttered as he stumbled forward,

"Don't thank me, truth is you aren't even one of the strongest enemies I've ever faced," she admitted,

"I should have expected as much," he replied, spitting out some blood, "but I can't just stop. Will end this with one last move. Sound good?"

"Sure," she replied, reactivating her shunko

Together they charged, each pouring their power into their last attack. The two were soon within range of each other, both lashed out with their right fist. The room shook, the ground cracked, the very air around them seemed to suddenly split.

"Heh, figures," muttered Soniku as he stared down at the woman, "I guess if I had to die, it could have been worse than this."

Yoruichi's fist had been the only one to hit it's mark, the blow had been so strong it had gone clean through the Arrancar's chest.

She yanked it out, flinching at the blood on her hand. Soniku fell to the ground, still alive, but just barely.

"Before I die; a small piece of wisdom. Those who lead us, are far stronger then we were, the leader is without fear. He has a plan, a plan to raise Hollows to new levels of power. If you continue this fight, you will have a difficult road to walk."

"That's alright, my roads are never easy," she replied,

"If you want more answers, talk, to Heijin," he suggested before coughing up some blood.

"It was, a good fight," he said, "I hope I wasn't too boring."

"No."

"Good," he spoke, then breathed his last breath.

Yoruichi walked away solemnly, she hated killing, no matter who it was. As she walked back towards the first room, she noticed that Kuroda's reiatsu signature was still active, he had won. She had expected no less.

As she approached the door, she felt her mind wander as to how she would tease him when she got back. It was always a good way to lighten the mood a bit.

Suddenly the door exploded into pieces, throwing up dust and pieces of door everywhere.

"Yoruichi!" she heard Kuroda yell as he shot through the door.

Yoruichi where-, oh, you're okay," he said when he noticed her.

"Idiot, of course I'm fine," she scolded,

"Uh, what happened to your shirt?" he asked,

"I had to use Shunko," she explained,

"Oh, okay," he said awkwardly, "so, you're not hurt are you?"

"Ah, you care about me! How sweet!" she teased,

"I-I-I'm just asking if you're alright!" he protested,

"That sounds like care to me!"

"Oh, just shut up," he muttered,

"Oh, that was mean," she said in her best sad voice, "I'm going to cry!"

"You can't fool me! You're just pretending!" he replied coldly,

She gave him her best puppy dog eyes.

"Don't cry damn it! I'm sorry, really really sorry!"

"Ha! Got you!"

"ARGH!"

**A/N**

**WOOOH!**

**DB: That was a long chapter! Spent a lot of time thinking of how to do the fights, I hope it turned out alright. I think I did an alright job, don't you Kuroda.**

**Kuroda: Meh,**

**DB: MEH? MEH! You were in the fight! You're supposed to support it!**

**Kuroda: Just cause I'm in the fight doesn't mean I like it!**

**DB: You are lucky that I need you to play the part!**

**Kuroda: Whatever**

**DB: ARGH! I GET NO REVIEWS AND NO RESPECT!**

**Kuroda: Whiner**

**Please review and subscribe!**

_**Denka Suru: Yuu Tori/ Electrify: Mountain Bird**_

_**Ganaru: Raio Ou/ Roar: King Lion**_

_**Denkousekka no bakudan/ Lightning bomb**_

_**Denki no arashi/ Storm of Electricity**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Wow, that's a bit of a slap to the face. I got pretty much no reviews on that last chapter, and I worked so hard. .**

**Oh well, hopefully I'll rack more in this time. If I don't, I'll just stop writing…maybe. At least until I get some reviews, is my story not good or something? I understand if it isn't. By the way, can someone tell me what the difference is between hits and visits when it comes to story traffic? I'm confused.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own bleach, Kubo Tite does. **

Chapter 8

Discovery

Heijin sat smiling at his wonderful computer as it blessed him with images of numbers that would have only made sense to someone like him, in other words, someone crazy.

A small chuckle slipped through his lips as he watched the end of both fights from a side terminal on his right. It was perfect, wonderfully perfect. He couldn't have hoped for a better outcome then this. Those two useless Arrancar had been expendable, downright useless even. They couldn't even wound their foes enough to hamper them even a little.

"They'll be nothing compared to you," he muttered as he turned to the hollow on the table. He stood up and adjusted a few wires and plugged in a some new ones to the underside of the table. Pressing a button he lowered down what looked like a giant showerhead.

"You'll be a true work of art, the master will be so pleased," he said to himself. He turned back to the screen, watching the two intruders bicker with each other, "and it's all, thanks, to you."

#*(&$#(*&#

"Look you're hurt, I think you should stay back and let me handle this," said Kuroda, for the fifth time,

"It's not that bad," replied Yoruichi, "I'll be fine, I can take care of myself. Besides, it's just my shirt."

"You're still injured, what if it hampers your ability to fight?" he asked,

"I really don't think it will," she said nonchalantly,

"But what if it does?"

"It won't,"

"But what if it does?"

"It won't."

"This is going nowhere," he finally said,

"Oh, so you finally caught on!"

"Ugh," he replied, he really didn't want to play this card. But she was being stubborn, and for the love of god, she needed to stay back and let herself heal, "well, what about your shirt? It's all torn up. How am I supposed to concentrate on the fight when you're…like that?"

"What, you mean the torn shirt?" she asked,

"Yes," he replied, "it's…very distracting."

"Oh my, are you thinking naughty thoughts as you stare at me?" she asked,

Steam shot out from Kuroda's ears as his face became like a train's engine. "NO! I'm just saying that it's distracting! I mean all you've got on under there is a bra!"

Suddenly feeling very indecent, Kuroda turned his sight away from his friend.

Yoruichi decided to tease him a bit more.

"What color is my bra?" she asked,

"What! Why would you ask me that?" he screamed, "I don't know, I didn't pay attention!"

"I think you did, come on. Guess the right color and I might do as you say!" she offered,

Kuroda paused for a moment; then finally said, "Black…with red embroidery."

"Oh, so you were looking," she decided,

"I WAS NOT!" he screamed,

"Then how did you know?" she asked,

"I-I-I, well, you, me," he stuttered, unable to find an excuse finally his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"I knew it, you were looking!" she shouted victoriously, "well enough fun and games, let's get going."

"Wait, you said you'd stay back if I answered right" he protested,

"I said I might," she reminded him; "might and will are two different things."

"You damn were-cat, you tricked me," he growled,

"Come on now, no need to get all riled up. Besides, if the shirt distracts you so much, I'll just get rid of it," she decided,

"What! That's not what I meant, Its distracting because-" he was immediately cut off when Yoruichi, true to her word, tore of her shirt and threw it into his face.

"Alright let's go," she said,

"Wait," he called, taking off his cloak as he went.

"Here," he said, throwing it over her bare shoulders, thankfully he managed to do so without staring too much.

"Eh? You're giving me your cape?" she asked, very surprised.

"It's not a cape, it's a cloak, and yes," he said as he tied the strings to keep it in place, "I'd rather you not go into battle half naked."

"ooh, this is pretty comfortable," she observed as she touched the cloak, "I should get one of these, much less restrictive than that shirt."

"I'm suddenly regretting my decision," Kuroda said to himself, a small vein popping from his forehead.

"Alright, now that I'm "Decent" let's get going," she said as she started climbing the long set of stairs.

"I hate stairs," he muttered as he followed after her, "I don't even remember why I'm helping you anymore."

"If I recall," she said from ahead of him, "you said something to the effect of 'you are very special to me'"

"I suddenly don't even want to remember," he muttered,

"I heard that," she told him,

'Bloody cat ears,' he thought. "Whatever"

"Oh, come on," she said, "I personally thought it was very sweet of you."

Kuroda scratched his cheek lightly, his face kind of felt warm.

_Aw, that's so cut; you're in love with her!_

'Shut up,' he thought, 'don't you have something better to do? Like, wash your hat or something?'

_Hey, no need to get snippy, just telling you what I can see_

Kuroda decided to simply ignore his zanpaktou and continue following the woman in front of him. He started wondering why he'd given Yoruichi his cloak, he thought about it for a bit, then remembered.

It hadn't been his fault that he'd remembered what her bra looked like, right? He hadn't been looking at it, he'd just glanced. He just happened to have a very good memory, right? Why was she wearing a bra? Didn't she usually go without…how did he know that?

Just when he had begun concluding that he was indeed insane and that he should go to the nearest mental institute as quickly as possible, they reached the top of the stairs.

The stairs had led them to a wide open platform with a door at the far end.

"Well, looks like this is it," commented Yoruichi,

"Yup," agreed Kuroda, "are you sure you can deal with those wounds? No one will blame you if-"

"Kuroda,"

"Huh?" he turned to face her.

"Just who do you think I am?" she asked dangerously, her lower lip curled up into a snarl and her eyes had narrowed in a menacing glare.

"Uh…" he paused, a little bit overwhelmed but her aura of anger, "I…think…that you are a very wonderful woman and that you can take care of yourself."

"Good," she said, suddenly happy.

'I think she's just trying to act tough' he thought to himself as he looked down at her damaged belly, her very well-toned belly. Now that he looked at her, she had a very curvy body as well. She also had a really nice- STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! GOING TOO FAR!

By now Kuroda had grabbed his own hair and was practically punishing himself for having such lecherous thoughts. If you were to see it, it would look a lot like he was fighting with his own body, like just right now, he punched himself. Haha, I bet you guys wish you were me right now, me being able to see this, hehe.

Of course, Yoruichi noticed this.

"Eh, what's the matter?" she asked,

"Nothing," he replied weakly, "but, could you pull the cloak a bit more together?"

"Eh? Why?"

"Just…never mind," he replied as he walked to the door. Deciding to just get it over with so that he could go home and sleep, he reached to unsheathe AnShen.

"I guess I'll open the door."

Just as he was about to slash the door open, a beam of reiatsu burst through the door and smashed into him.

"KURODA!"

Kuroda never really felt the beam hit him, because the minute it did, he passed out. He didn't feel his body hit the ground, or the burns that the shot had left him with. He couldn't hear Yoruichi yelling out his name, because he'd passed out.

"Kuroda! Damn it, wake up!" she yelled as she tried to shake him awake.

"Oh, he's out cold?" asked a voice from behind the door, "I guess I hit him a bit too hard. Truth is, I wanted him awake."

"That voice."

"Oh, you recognize me? I guess I give you too little credit, but I never really gave you my name," said the owner of the voice as he stepped out from the hole in the door.

The owner was a tall, rather lean yet athletic man somewhere in his thirties. His hair was a dark green and reached down to his ear's, his eyes were reptilian and a bright shade of yellow. His nose pointed and sharp, his tongue seemed to hang out an extra inch or so out of his mouth and was slightly forked at the very tip.

On his entire body, the only piece of clothing he wore was a pair of white pants. Leaving his entire upper body exposed, letting Yoruichi see the patches of green scales that blotched his skin. The only tell-tale sign of his past life; was the piece of mask that covered his right eye and the large hole in the middle of his stomach.

"I should properly introduce my ssself," he said slyly, "my name, Tokage"

"You, were that hollow we chased," realized Yoruichi,

"I'm honestly sssurprised you figured it out so quickly," he said mockingly, "tell me what wasss it that gave me away? Was it the forked elongated tongue?"

"Your cocky attitude" she answered,

"oh, that hurt. I think I'm going to cry," he joked, placing his hand where his heart would be.

"Tokage!" called Heijin from behind the door, out from the hole he climbed, holding a katana with a green hilt. "You forgot this."

"Ah, thank you," he said as he caught the weapon, "Still getting used to the idea of carrying around a weapon."

"Now back to the matter at hand," he continued, "time to pay back injury with injury. That bastard broke my leg so I'll break every bone in his body."

"I think you're forgetting something," said Yoruichi, standing up and placing herself between her friend and the enemy, "you'll have to get through me, before you touch a single hair on his head."

"That can be arranged," said Heijin, drawing his own zanpaktou, "while I would enjoy seeing my new creation tear you limb from limb in a one on one fight. I must show him to my master, he will be so excited by the achievement we have done here."

"Oh come one, I can take her without your help," complained Tokage as he drew his sword.

"Sorry Tokage, but don't worry, there will be plenty of other opportunities," he assured,

"Like hell there will!" he yelled before thrusting out his hand, a massive green cero fired out from his palm and raced towards Yoruichi.

Quick as she could she grabbed Kuroda and slung him over her shoulder, quickly using shunpo to move out of the way of the devastating attack.

The green beam missed her by but a few inches and hit the wall behind them, an explosion of unimaginable power reduced the wall to dust.

'Such destructive power!' she thought to herself,

Tokage fired another cero, again just barely missing the woman by a few inches.

"Stay still so I can kill you!" he yelled manically. Dust flew through the air, obscuring the eyes off all the combatants as the cero reduced yet another wall into rubble.

"Damn, I can't fight like this," she muttered,

"HI THERE!" she heard from behind. She whipped around to see Tokage behind her with his katana raised above his head, ready to deliver a killing blow, "AND GOODBYE."

"shit," she muttered before vanishing again,

"Hey, come back here!" he yelled,

Yoruichi reappeared far away from her opponent, hand outstretched for attack,

"Hadou 73: Soren Sakatsui!" she commanded; twin beams of blue light fired from her palm and raced towards her foe.

The newly born Arrancar made no move to avoid the attack, letting its full power strike him head on. Smoke filled the air along with rubble and dust, an agonizing silence hung in the air as Yoruichi waited to see if her attack had had any effect.

"Please be dead," she whispered,

"hehe, that tickled."

Yoruichi's eyes widened with fear, the smoke departed from the air and revealed the Arrancar completely unharmed save a few tiny scratches.

"Is that the best you've got?" he asked mockingly, "if so, I'm wasting my time."

"Hey, Heijin, go ahead, I don't feel like wasting time with her," called the Arrancar,

"Very well," replied the rouge shinigami, he raised his katana and spoke,

"_rano me wokuramasetekudasai: hikari!"_

At the end of his words his katana burst with a blinding light so intense it rivaled the sun itself. Yoruichi was forced to turn away for fear of becoming blinded.

The moment she shut her eyes, a fist smashed into her stomach, pain exploded, blood emerged from her lips and she was sent tumbling to the floor, Kuroda thrown to the ground far away from her. Even when she managed recovered from the blow, she found that despite her efforts her vision had all but left her, she was unable to see as Tokage's fist smashed into her face, or when his sword sliced through her ribs.

Before long, she was on the ground, wounded and unable to properly defend herself. Fate seemed to frown on her once again as it was just then that her vision returned, only for it to be unable to make a difference.

"Well, it wasssn't much of a fight, but it was still fun," hissed Tokage, "my only regret is that your boyfriend isn't awake to see me tear your head off your shoulders."

Tokage roughly grabbed the woman by her hair and lifted her up, then drew his katana, it's edge menacingly sliding from its sheath.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Heijin walk over to Kuroda's unconscious body, sword hovering over his chest.

"Do not feel bad Yoruichi Shihoin, this battle was decided the minute I unleashed my zanpaktou. No warrior, no matter how great, must rely on their sight in order to fight. My zanpaktou takes that away from them, it was its power that made me a Lieutenant of the 12 squad. That is, before I was replaced by that damn doll."

"you're gonna watch this," cackled Tokage, pushing Yoruichi to look towards Kuroda's body.

Heijin raised his sword.

"No," she weakly protested. Her heart was pounding like a drum, her mind raced at a thousand miles an hour. She had to try something, anything, she willed herself to move but found that she couldn't. She tried to activate shunko but again found herself at a loss of energy.

She watched helplessly as the blade descended down on Kuroda's chest. Time slowed, the tip slowly etched its way down, getting closer and closer. Tears began to blur her vision. Finally the sword down sunk into his chest, blood gushed forth, and it was over.

Yoruichi stood stunned, unable to comprehend the loss of such a dear friend. She fell to her knees, the tears began to fall down her cheek and wet the floor.

"Such a shame, I knew his reputation," said Heijin, "I had expected more from him."

"Who cares?" said Tokage, "this bitch is next."

Yoruichi felt a dark anger rise in the bowels of her stomach, an anger born of pure hate. Hate for herself and the enemy. Her hands clenched together, shaking uncontrollably.

"Time to die," said Tokage, raising his sword above his head.

"I don't think so!"

The Arrancar's eyes widened in surprise for a single moment, before he was suddenly tossed away from his victim, sending him smashing through the door he'd originally come out of.

Heijin's eyes became filled with fear, his feet shook ever so lightly and he suddenly found swallowing very difficult.

"Impossible," he whispered weakly,

"What are you doing?"

"K-Kuroda," stuttered Yoruichi,

"Come on, your making yourself look bad, making me have to save you not just once but twice. Seriously, you were a former captain, show some skill," he said bluntly, obviously ignoring her surprise at him being alive.

"You're alive?" she finally asked,

"Of course I'm alive, did you really think I'd be killed in such a way?"

"You're alive," trembled Heijin, "that's impossible; I felt your reiatsu signal disappear. You should be right over-"

Looking down, Heijin saw that the body of the man he had assumed he'd killed was gone.

"But, how?"

"Way of Onmitsu, 3rd of the Shiho," he explained, "I learned it from Yoruichi, haven't had to use it in a while, but I've still got the hang of it. Truth is I was only unconscious up until Tokage revealed himself. I decided to play possum for a bit to gain some info on your powers, thanks to my act you guys gave me a lot of information. Of course, when you guys started beating on Yoruichi, I decided to give up the charade."

Heijin's fear turned to anger at the realization that he'd been played.

"You, son of a bitch!" he screamed angrily, _"HIKARI!"_

The same light that had caused Yoruichi's temporary blindness shot out from his zanpaktou again, Heijin smiled devilishly as he watched his light consume its intended target.

"For all that you learned, you couldn't act on it," he said,

Suddenly a strong hand grasped him from behind by his forehead,

"What the-"

Before he could even finish his sentence, he found his head smashed down at least a good foot into the floor.

"Something I learned while I was playing dead, the light only blinds anyone in front of you. That's why that Arrancar wasn't affected, he was behind you during the time," Kuroda explained as he held the man's head in the ground.

"You bastard," growled Heijin from under the rubble,

Kuroda snorted in amusement. "I think we'll take you back with us, get some answers out of you."

"Be my guest,"

Kuroda turned to the door to see Tokage climbing out from the hole that he had just been thrown through, a cero charging in his hand. "But first, you're gonna have to fight me!"

The Cero fired, Kuroda, with no other choice, reluctantly vanished and left Heijin behind.

"About time you got up," muttered Heijin as he pushed himself out of the ground.

"Well sssorry, but I just wanted to sssee how good he was. Gotta sssay, I'm pretty excited to fight you."

"Is that so?" he asked Kuroda,

"Yeahhhhh."

"Alright," he decided,

"Yoruichi," he said, causing her to finally snap out of the trance she had been stuck in.

"Uh…yes?",

"I know your hurt, and I'd never ask you to do something that was too much for you to handle. But could you chase after Heijin? I'm gonna be busy here," he explained.

"Of course," she replied as she stood up,

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely,"

"Alright," he decided, "we'll do that."

Heijin's face cringed with anger, they acted as if he were nothing, that even a wounded woman could handle capturing him. Well, they would soon pay, they'd all pay!

"Worthless fools," he muttered, "Tokage, finish up here. Then meet back up with me, I'm going to finish preparations for our departure."

"Sure boss," replied Tokage, though in truth he did not seem to be paying attention.

"Good," said Heijin as he walked through the door.

"After him," commanded Kuroda,

"Right," Yoruichi vanished and reappeared near the door and behind Tokage, it was just then that Tokage too disappeared and reappeared inches from her face.

"Not so fast!" he slashed his katana through Yoruichi's abdomen, only to find that it was just an after image of the woman.

As the image faded away, Kuroda burst through it and smashed his sword into Tokage's. Sparks flew as the metal grinded against each other, both combatants reiatsu fluctuated to their highest levels. The two struggled for control of the fight; the ground beneath them began to crack under the pressure of their combined power.

"Now thatsss more like it!" shouted Tokage, a smile of perverse joy on his face. With a roll of his shoulders he pushed Kuroda back. Kuroda ground he heels into the floor in a vain attempt to stop himself, as he did Tokage charged a cero and fired at his off balance foe.

Kuroda's eyes widened as he realized the destructive potential that attack had behind it.

'No way to stop that,' he realized,

Using shunpo he swiftly evaded the attack by a few meters only to be caught in the blast radius. The explosion smashed into his back, sending him tumbling through the air and into the ground. Pain lanced up his side, but he managed stand with some difficulty. He felt along the side he'd landed on and realized he'd probably cracked a rib or two.

"HAHAHA!"

Kuroda raised his sword just in time to parry an incoming swing from Tokage, the force of the attack sent him skidding back. As the Arrancar charged him again Kuroda swung his sword in a horizontal swing, Tokage easily parried and retaliated with an overhead strike. The Shinigami rolled out of the way, the blade struck the ground with a tremendous force, sending rubble as high as fifteen feet in the air.

Tokage pressed his attack and unleashed a flurry of swings, Kuroda weakly blocked each swing, noting that he could not fully stop any of the strikes. Tokage swung at Kuroda's side, he parried but the blow sent him skidding backwards.

Before he could even think of recovering, Tokage suddenly appeared behind him.

"DIE!"

There was no time to turn around and block, so he tried to dodge, but it was in vain. As he attempted to jump away the blade sliced through his left ribs.

It felt like someone had just jammed a red hot iron into his side. Blood seeped from the wound, staining the pure white ground with red.

"Damn" he whispered,

Tokage attacked again and again, Kuroda knew he couldn't keep this up; already his arms were beginning to feel the strain of blocking so many powerful blows.

He had to turn this around, and fast! Tokage raised his sword for another attack. The two blades collided one more time, but this time Kuroda did not try to hold the attack back. Instead he let the blades slide closer to him, when the time was right his left hand let go of the hilt and latched on to Tokage's wrist.

"What the-"

In a split second, Kuroda pulled the Arrancar towards him while at the same time side stepping so that he was side by side with his opponent. His katana flashed as he broke the lock and brought it down across Tokage's abdomen.

Where he should have seen blood, he saw bright green sparks.

Tokage immediately retaliated and smashed the hilt of his sword into Kuroda's stomach. Kuroda felt something break inside of him as he flew into a wall.

His back felt like a thousand needles had been shoved into it, he weakly pushed himself out of the wall and fell to his knees. His breath was heavy and he tasted blood in his mouth, the side of his head was bleeding too, some of was blurring his vision.

"What's the matter, my hierro too much for you?" mocked Tokage,

Kuroda remained silent.

"Don't be a sore loser, it's not your fault you haven't landed a single scratch on me this entire time," Tokage continued.

Kuroda still didn't respond, instead he pulled his sword back in to a position that would allow him to easily swing in a wide arc. Tokage's smile widened and he charged forth like a wild dog, his blade raised above his head in a ready position.

Kuroda remained still, his body frozen like a statue.

'He isn't moving, is he giving up?' wondered Tokage,

Kuroda remained adamant as Tokage descended upon him. Soon they were both within sword reach, Tokage lashed out with his sword, only to feel it hit air. Kuroda had side stepped and swung his sword up from his hip and across Tokage's chest.

This time, he drew blood.

The Arrancar stumbled past the man, the shock of being cut rang through his mind. He couldn't understand why his hierro didn't protect him this time.

"So, I was right," he heard Kuroda say. He turned to see the man examining the blood on his zanpaktou, the blade had cut a line from Tokage's left ribs all the way up to his right shoulder.

"What do you mean by that?" hissed Tokage,

"Your hierro, I couldn't cut it before because I wasn't using enough power in my swing. This time I used more," he explained,

"Well alright, now we're talking!" shouted Tokage excitedly, "but don't think that giving me this wound will make a difference. It's not that deep, and you're still more banged up than I am."

Kuroda remained silent, but knew that his opponent spoke the truth. His arms were sore, he was bleeding in more than one place, and pain racked his body. But he had to press on.

Tokage raised his sword once more as Kuroda took his own stance.

The two charged each other, just as their blades were about to make contact, Tokage vanished. Before Kuroda could respond, he reappeared behind him and delivered a powerful kick to Kuroda's face.

The blow sent Kuroda sprawling across the ground. When he recovered, he was greeted by a barrage of green bala. He quickly rolled away to avoid the attacks, jumping to his feet as quickly as he could.

Tokage appeared above him, Kuroda jumped out of the way of a devastating slash then countered with a few quick strikes at his opponent, all of which were blocked.

As he parried the last strike, Tokage stepped in under Kuroda's guard and swung his sword at Kuroda's head. Kuroda managed to duck under only to find Tokage's knee waiting for him. His head snapped back as he stumbled backwards.

He barely dodged Tokage's next attack and was cut across the chest by the second. He was losing and he knew it, but still he raised his sword.

Kuroda was the first to charge this time, Tokage met him head on, the minute their swords clashed, Kuroda disappeared and attacked Tokage from the back. Tokage blocked but was nearly caught off guard by the next attack that came from above.

Kuroda slowly began to pick up more speed as he rushed around his opponent in a large circle and attacked him randomly.

Soon he began to display the same speed he had used during his fight with Okoto.

"What the?"

"Moving too fast for you?" asked Kuroda devilishly, as he and his after images danced around the Arrancar,

Yet for all the speed he displayed, he still wasn't able to land any hits on Tokage, each strike was only met with the blade of his zanpaktou.

"you've got some speed, I'll give you that" said Tokage as he blocked another blow.

"I can go a bit faster," replied Kuroda as he jumped back, picking up his pace he maneuvered around his opponent and attacked again, only to be met with Tokage's blade.

He lunged out again and as usual Tokage raised his sword in time to block, only this time he blocked nothing. It had been an after image, the real Kuroda was to his right.

The shinigami swung his sword at his foe, Tokage pushed of his foot in an attempt to avoid the incoming blade. Despite his efforts, the blade slipped in between his ribs.

It was a shallow cut but still, Kuroda would take what he could get. Tokage, excited by Kuroda's success, jumped back at him. Their blades met again, together they vanished and crashed into each other over and over again.

As they met again, Tokage kicked out Kuroda's right leg, causing him to lose balance. As he fell, Kuroda's stomach suddenly met with Tokage's fist, the blow was so powerful in caused to immediately cough up blood.

But Kuroda did no let the injury go unanswered, grabbing Tokage by the shoulder, he threw back his head then smashed it into Tokage's. Both combatants were left dazed after that, though Kuroda questioned if what he'd just done was truthfully wise.

"Not a bad move," said Tokage as he pointed to the small stream of blood rolling down his fore head, "I never thought your head would be so hard, but I guess mine was harder.

A much larger stream of blood rolled down Kuroda's fore head.

"I think it's obvious that I'm the ssstronger fighter here," said Tokage as he cockily rested his sword on his shoulder.

"But you know," said Tokage, "I'm wondering, how far my power can take me. Sssince you're at least a relatively challenging opponent, I think I'll try this on you first."

Kuroda's eyes widened as the Arrancar placed his left hand on the blade of his zanpaktou.

"_Hisunoizu: Kyodai na tokage!"_

"Oh, crap," was all Kuroda could say,

A bright green light engulfed Tokage, the amount of reiatsu was terrifying, the sheer amount of it alone caused a gust that rivaled the strongest of hurricanes.

When it subsided, Tokage had transformed. His head wan now covered with what looked like a lizard's skull that was connected to a long spine that ran down his own back and eventually turned into a long bony tail with a sharp point at the end. The entire upper half of his body was now covered with what looked like giant scales. Then there were his hands, his hands had been covered in the bone white material and had gained 5 inch long razor sharp claws.

"Are you ssscared?" asked Tokage,

Kuroda remained silent, his eyes focused only on the possible dangers this new form presented.

"Letsss sssee what I can do now," suggested Tokage, in the blink of an eye he was suddenly gone. Kuroda's eyes widened as Tokage suddenly reappeared just beside him and kicked him in the ribs.

That single kick broke two of his ribs and sent him smashing through a wall into another room.

"Ow," he muttered as he weakly tried to stand up,

"What's the matter?" he heard, he looked up to see Tokage above him, "done already?"

Kuroda immediately pushed himself back to his feet and lunged out at the Arrancar, Tokage dodged the blade as swung at him with his claws. Kuroda jumped back but the claws still grazed him.

Tokage pressed the attack and lunged out with his claws again, Kuroda just barely blocked the strike with his blade, only to be sent flying when Tokage whipped around and smashed his tail into him.

Kuroda quickly recovered and charged the Arrancar, he swung at him with full force only to miss at hit air. The Arrancar retaliated with a furious frenzy of swipes. Kuroda just barely managed to avoid the attacks, the tail came at him again tip first. He held up his sword and parried the attack, deflecting it away only to be kicked in the stomach.

He coughed up more blood but ignored it. He would not admit defeat yet. The two combatants clashed once more. Blows were exchanged, dodged, blocked and received. Each time they clashed, shock waves cut through the air and even through the walls themselves.

But for all his effort, Kuroda began to feel a growing sense of hopelessness. So far he'd been the only one taking damage.

Tokage jumped back after Kuroda swung again, then unexpectedly curled into a ball and rolled at his opponent faster than a missile. Kuroda knew he hadn't the energy to dodge, so he raised his sword in hopes of blocking.

The incoming mass collided with his blade, Kuroda dug his feet into the ground but was pushed back nonetheless. Finally he could hold it back no more and was sent flying as the attack finally broke through.

Kuroda gasped in pain as he felt something else in his body break. Even as he flew through the air, Tokage appeared behind him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"You're pathetic!" screamed Tokage as he pulled back a claw,

Kuroda thrust out AnShen at the Arrancar's eye in hopes of at least blinding him, the Arrancar simply stayed still and let it hit his eye; at first Kuroda believed he'd scored a hit but was surprised to find that he couldn't even cut through his opponent's eye.

"Ha! You're weak!" mocked Tokage, he lashed out with his hand and punched Kuroda in the chin.

Kuroda couldn't even feel it, his body was so badly beaten it was impossible to feel anything. He didn't even feel himself hit the ground.

Amazingly, he mustered enough strength to push himself up to stand, much to the amusement of Tokage.

"Ssstubborn aren't you?" taunted Tokage,

"I don't ever give up," replied Kuroda weakly.

"You should give up, you're well on your way to death, so just let me get it over with already," demanded Tokage.

"Sorry, but I can't afford to lose to you," replied Kuroda,

"Oh, and how are you going to win?" asked the Arrancar arrogantly, "you're half dead as it is and you can't even lay a sssingle scratch on me. Ssso how are you going to win, huh?"

"I'll finish you off," he continued, "and then, I'm gonna kill that woman you hold so dear."

Kuroda's eyes widened with anger at the Arrancar's last sentence.

"Well, I didn't really want to have to do this," said Kuroda as he reached for his right sleeve, his voice full of malicious intent, "but, I suppose there really is no other option."

"What are you talking about?" demanded Tokage, becoming visibly annoyed at what he believed was just an act.

"I haven't been fighting at full power."

Tokage's eyes widened, "YOU WHAT!"

"It's true," said Kuroda as if it were a bad thing, "I didn't think I'd need more than I have now, but I was wrong."

"Y-you're, you're bluffing!"

"No," said Kuroda as he began to roll up his right sleeve, "I haven't."

He'd rolled up his sleeve completely, revealing three black leather armbands on his upper bicep.

"Do you know what these are?" he asked,

Tokage didn't respond.

"These are seals; I had my friend Kisuke come up with them. I needed them for…certain reasons. But basically what they do; is they suppress my reiatsu to lower levels, so that I'm not as strong as I could be."

"You're lying!" spat Tokage,

"Do you really think so?" asked Kuroda as he reached for the lowest band, "let's find out."

Time seemed to slow as Kuroda unlatched to first seal, the band gently fell.

The moment it hit the floor, Kuroda's power was unleashed.

His reiatsu suddenly skyrocketed. A visible geyser of it erupted from Kuroda, much larger than the one that Tokage had created. The gust he created was so powerful; Tokage had to lodge himself into the ground for fear of being blown away.

When it was over, Kuroda stood unchanged but different. Anyone with a hint of spiritual awareness could tell, he had become much stronger.

Tokage, being the nearest, felt the full force of Kuroda's new reiatsu brought down on him. The reiatsu was so heavy it felt as if the air around him had become lead, within moments his breath was much heavier. He attempted to lift his hand but found it took far more energy that it should have.

"What is this?" he asked aloud, as he struggled to move back, "his reiatsu feels totally different, and his wounds, his wounds have healed!"

"Do you believe now?" asked Kuroda,

"It doesn't matter!" screamed Tokage, "I'll still crush you luck a bug! I'm still stronger than you!"

"Really?" Kuroda calmly asked, he lifted his sword and pointed it at his opponent, "Care to prove it?"

Tokage felt rage build up inside of him, this lowly shinigami, just a second ago was having his ass kicked, had the gall to act so superior! Without a second's hesitation, Tokage charged forward at top speed, he covered the gap between them in but a moment.

As soon as he was in range, he lashed out with his right hand with the intent to skewer his opponent. But when his claws reached towards his victim, it hit nothing but air. Kuroda had simply vanished without Tokage even realizing it.

"Too slow," he heard from behind him, he turned his head to see Kuroda just a few meters from him. He tried to turn to face the arrogant bastard but stopped when he suddenly felt a thousand blades cut through his skin.

In single second, three cuts appeared on Tokage's body. The first crossed from his left shoulder to his right hip, the second traveled down his entire back, and the last one lacerated his shoulder. Blood fountained from the wounds, Tokage screamed from the intense pain as he fell to his knees.

"What happened?" he asked himself, "HE WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!"

"Give up now, and I'll make your death painless," offered Kuroda,

"You bastard, no way I'll give up!" yelled Tokage; he thrust out both hands towards his foe, his eyes full of hate as he yelled, "Twin Cero!"

True to his word, a cero began forming in each hand, both growing the size of a basketball. He fired both simultaneously, the green beams raced towards his opponent, a smile spread across his face. That man would die now!

Despite the terrifying attack approaching him now, Kuroda remained calm. As the cero approached, he raised his left hand, and then caught both cero in his palm. He noticeably winced as he made physical contact with the cero; he dug his heels into the ground as it began to slowly push him back. Then without even thinking about it, he tossed it aside and into a wall. The cero reduced the wall and most of the room behind it into rubble. The blast was huge and caused enough smoke to fill both rooms multiple times over.

Kuroda let out a blast of reiatsu and easily blew it away, as he did Tokage suddenly burst forth from the smoke and lunged out at him with his right claw. To Kuroda, the Arrancar might as well have been moving with five hundred pound weights on his legs. He easily caught the attack with his hand, and then proceeded to bring his opponent over his shoulder and onto the ground, creating a huge crater where he'd smashed the Arrancar.

But he immediately sprang up and attacked Kuroda with a frenzy of wild swipes; his foe dodged all of his attacks never once even bothering to strike back. Tokage felt his anger rise to new levels, he lashed out with his tail but Kuroda merely jumped over it. When he fired a cero, Kuroda simply caught it and redirected it somewhere else.

"DIE!" roared Tokage, falling on to all fours, the ridges of the spine on his back suddenly grew longer and became sharp. The Arrancar jumped into the air, curled up into a ball and rolled through the air while firing off large bone spears at his opponent.

Kuroda easily dodged the attack.

"Got ya!" Tokage joyfully shouted as he reached the ground.

Kuroda suddenly noticed that the bone spears were beginning to glow, a moment later and they exploded like landmines.

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Is that it?"

Tokage whipped around to see Kuroda completely unharmed. Before he could even react, Kuroda was inches away from him, his hand came up and grabbed the Arrancar by the forehead and smashed him into the ground, creating yet another crater in the floor.

Kuroda lifted his hand and stared down at his opponent.

Tokage lay in the rubble of his crater, the fight having left his eyes. He tried desperately to move but found himself unable to; fear gripped him as he stared at the figure looming over him.

"Please" he whispered weakly, "spare me."

"Spare you?" asked Kuroda, "I don't think so. I won't let an Arrancar like you off the hook so easily."

"So you're killing me just because I'm an Arrancar?" asked Tokage angrily, with the last of his strength he pushed himself up and swiped his claw at Kuroda, only to once again hit nothing but air. He fell to his knees, unable to move any longer.

"No," said Kuroda from behind his defeated foe, "I'm going to kill you, because you dared to threaten my friend."

With that said; he grasped AnShen with both hands and raised him over his head. With a single strike, he severed the Arrancar's head from his body.

Without a single word, he sheathed AnShen and walked towards the stairs. It was time to end this.

**A/N**

**Wow, that was the longest chapter I've ever written. I think I might take a small break for a bit, at least until I get more reviews, cause seriously, those are the only things that keep me going. If I don't get enough reviews, I might stop! I'm kidding of course.**

**Please review! Please share this story with your friends, please subscribe.**

**Also someone please tell me what the difference is between a hit and a visitor.**

**Hisunoizu: Kyodaina Tokage/ Hiss: Lizard Lord**


	9. Chapter 9

**What's up! How's life? I'm out of school! YES! Now I'm free to work on my story! Hooray for summer!**

**Disclaimer: Well, if I owned Bleach, there would be one or two changes. Like those damn fillers, some of them have got to go.**

Chapter 9

The Plot Thickens

Kuroda sighed heavily, this was not good. He knew he shouldn't have taken off his arm band.

As it turns out, the band itself had been ripped apart, whether it was during the fighting with Tokage or simply when he'd taken it off he couldn't tell. But this was bad, really bad.

He stared solemnly at the piece of leather in his hand, losing this was like losing his right arm, and he needed it just as much too. Maybe Kisuke would be able to fix it, or at the very least make a new one for him. He certainly hoped so.

With another sigh, he placed it into his pocket.

First order of business was to readjust himself to his new level of power, having not removed that band in probably years; he was unintentionally releasing huge amounts of reiatsu. Taking a brief moment, he took in a deep breath and quickly lowered his output.

With that problem taken care of, he calmly walked back up the stairs.

When he arrived back at the top of the stairs, he could clearly hear Yoruichi's voice from behind the door. It sounded like he teasing voice, so it was safe to assume that she had won.

She always used that voice when she won. Especially with him.

Kuroda remembered when she'd beat him in a race and had teased him to no end in that exact voice, oh the humiliation he endured.

With that happy thought in his head, he pushed through the door. The room he stepped into reminded him of the lab Kisuke had set up in the 12th division. It was full of machines that he didn't understand and a lot of blinking lights that he imagined meant something but he was too busy to find out what.

In the center of it all was Yoruichi, standing on top of a very badly beaten Heijin, all tied up and ready to be interrogated.

"I see you've got some payback for the trouble the discomfort he caused you earlier," commented Kuroda as he walked toward his friend.

"Well, he put up a little flight," replied Yoruichi, "I don't know how this guy even became a vice captain, he's way too weak."

"Bitch," muttered Heijin weakly, "I'll tear your-"

Whatever Heijin was going to say was quickly cut off when Kuroda kicked him in the ribs.

"Has he said anything yet?" he asked,

"No," replied Yoruichi, "I can't get him to spill anything, but may Mr. Former Black Ops can."

"Well," said Kuroda as he kneeled down in front of his victim, "it's been a while, but I'll give it a shot."

"Do you two need to be alone?' asked Yoruichi teasingly,

"Very funny," he muttered.

Cracking his knuckles, he immediately got to work.

"Alright," he started, "most interrogations start off with the guy doing the interrogation trying to negotiate with the victim. So I'll start from there."

Kuroda suddenly grabbed Heijin by his hair and pulled back on it so that Heijin had no choice but to look up at him.

"Will you tell us what we need to know?" he asked nicely,

"Screw you," Heijin spat,

"Well, I tried," said Kuroda, Yoruichi raised her eyebrow and gave him a skeptical look. Kuroda shrugged and punched Heijin in the face.

"How about now?" asked Kuroda,

"Your sophisticated interrogation techniques are lacking," spat Heijin,

"Okay, new tactic," decided Kuroda, he freed Heijin's right hand and placed it under his left boot ,then said "you've got once chance."

Heijin responded by spitting blood onto his boot.

"Fair enough," replied Kuroda, with a simple shift of weight, he broke the man's thumb. Heijin screamed in pure agony and let loose a string of wild and colorful curses.

Most men would have cringed at the sight of the tortured soul and even more so at the sight of what Kuroda had done to the man's thumb. But Kuroda did not turn away, he stared at the scene as if it were like water coming out of a faucet.

When the screaming died down, Kuroda moved his boot onto the man's ring finger.

"How about now?" asked Kuroda casually, when the man gave no response, Kuroda added, "if you feel like it, you can start by telling us what you're doing here."

Heijin spat out a glob of blood and said, "Nothing much, just playing a little mad scientist with hollows."

"Be specific," ordered Kuroda

"Say please," taunted Heijin,

"Wrong answer," said Kuroda and crushed the man's ring finger.

Heijin once again howled in pain, he squirmed in his bounds like some fish out of water. Kuroda did not even flinch as he moved his boot over the man's middle finger.

Heijin soon tired himself out, unable to scream any longer he answered, "I was studying the process that hollows take to become Arrancar. I was curious as to why they needed to eat each other in order to do so."

"And?"

"I found out, that with each of their own that they eat, they take in more and more reiatsu. As they expanded the amount of reiatsu they contained, their body compensated for the changes," he managed to say through his panting,

"That is why they take on different forms," he continued, "eventually, they completely change their physical characteristics. That's when they become what we recognize as gillian, adjuchas and vasto lords."

"See, was that so hard?" asked Kuroda maliciously, "alright, so we know what you were doing, but I want to know how Tokage fits into all of this."

"What about him? He's a test subject, albeit a successful one but still just a test subject," replied Heijin,

"Shut up and tell me what you did to him," ordered Kuroda, putting a bit of pressure down on the man's finger.

"I'm not telling you, you'll just steal my work and give it to that damned soul society!"

Wrong thing to talk about, Kuroda did hesitate in crushing another finger, followed up by breaking Heijin's nose with his foot. Kuroda didn't even flinch as he heard the cartilage break from the impact of his boot.

Blood began to ooze out of Heijin's nose into a steady pool on the floor.

"We don't work for soul society anymore," said Kuroda as he circled his victim, "we're here on our own time. Now either answer my question, or the next time you lose a whole hand. I'm tired of getting blood on my boots."

"Alright, alright," said Heijin hastily, "just don't cut off my hand."

"Then start talking," growled Kuroda,

"I turned him into an Arrancar," said Heijin,

"I can see that, I'm the one who killed him. But I want to know how you turned him into one. There aren't exactly many books on how you can do that."

"I transferred reiatsu into him," Heijin managed to sputter through pants,

"How?"

"With that," he said, weakly pointing to a machine in the middle of the room, "all you do is sink reiatsu into it. Press a few buttons, and it transfers that reiatsu into whatever you want it to go into."

"So that's how you did it, but where'd you get the reiatsu?"

"What are you talking about? I just put it in myself."

It was an obvious lie, and it was swiftly rewarded with a kick to the ribs.

"Don't lie to me, you with your level of reiatsu I'm surprised you're even holding a zanpaktou. Now tell me or I'll cut your hand off."

"Alright," he said, "I took it from you guys. It's why I sent out those two Espada after you. I needed you to release as much reiatsu as possible. My machine collected it from your fight and used it to Tokage into an Arrancar."

"See, was that so hard to say?" asked Kuroda as he mockingly patted the man on the head, "last question. Who are you working for?"

"What are you talking about? I work for myself," said Heijin,

"How do you know he works for someone?" asked Yoruichi,

"Please, you really think this guy could create a place like this without alerting Soul Society, or gotten two high level Arrancar to work for him? No, I think someone is backing him up," he said, "so, you're going to tell me who."

"No way, that's the one thing I'm not telling you," shouted Heijin,

"Not the answer I wanted," said Kuroda.

Heijin watched in terror as Kuroda devilishly slid his katana out of its sheath and brought it over his hand.

"Please! You have to understand, if I tell then they'll kill me!" pleaded Heijin with every fiber of his being.

"Uh huh, who says I won't?" asked Kuroda, "it's not like you really mean anything to me. Your death could even be the highlight of my week. I think I'll take a picture of your mangled corpse and hang it in my living room."

"Ew," muttered Yoruichi,

"But first, the hand," said Kuroda as he raised his sword,

"You have no idea what he's like! He's beyond any of you, he'd kill you all with but a flick of his wrist. When he finds out what has happened here, he'll burn you all alive!" screamed Heijin,

"I've already given him all my data, he'll use it to achieve his true goals! I'll go down in history!" he continued on.

Kuroda had heard enough, he swung towards Heijin's hand in hopes of shutting the annoying man up. But the former Black ops commander had underestimated just how far he'd pushed his prisoner, Heijin immediately rolled into the swords arc and let it sliced through his neck.

The man died with a gurgling his own blood.

"Crap," muttered Kuroda,

"I didn't see that one coming," muttered Yoruichi solemnly,

"He was more scared of his boss then he was of death, that certainly tells us something."

"Well, we at the very least got some information out of him," said Yoruichi, "thanks for the help, I probably wouldn't have been able to get all of this without you."

"I'm sure you would have managed," assured Kuroda as he sheathed AnShen, "you're a resourceful gal."

"I'm sorry," she said with a chuckle, "was that a compliment?"

"Let's go," he said, ignoring her teasing

"Changing the subject huh?"

"I said let's go!" he yelled as he pushed out through the door.

Yoruichi's eyes twinkled mischievously as she giggled to herself. Despite everything that had just happened in the past 10 minutes, she was having too much fun.

It wasn't long before they managed to find the gate out of the place and pop back into Karakura town.

"Let's…never do that again," suggested Kuroda,

"I don't know, I had a lot of fun," said Yoruichi,

"Tch,"

"I'm serious," said Yoruichi, "after all, I got to have a great fight, get a lot done, and spend time with you, doesn't' that sound like a good day Kuroda? Kuroda?"

The purple haired woman turned to see the tall man facing away from her with his head drooping down as if he were hiding something.

"Are you okay?"

Kuroda wanted to say "no, my face is the color of a tomato" but instead he said, "I'm fine, I'm just very tired."

"I know what you mean," she said as she attempted to stifle a yawn, "I could use some sleep myself."

Kuroda did not like the sound of that, to most people what she just said sounded like casual conversation. But don't let that fool you. She was probably setting him up for something as I write this. She's carefully edging him into whatever position she wants him to be in, because that's what she does. She edges people.

He had to be very careful how he spoke his next words.

"…"

Just give him a moment.

"…"

He's getting to it.

"So where are you going to go sleep? Kisuke's?"

"Nah, I thought I'd crash at your place."

"Crap," he whispered, yep, she got him.

"Why me," he muttered to himself as he began to walk…uh…float, back to his apartment.

He was about to turn around and see if she was following him when something soft and rather heavy slammed into his back.

"Argh, what the-" he turned his head and saw that Yoruichi had flung herself on him piggy back style, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Yeah, not a good position for him.

"I'm tired, carry me back please," she muttered lazily,

"Yoruichi, act your age and-"he cut himself off when Yoruichi's eyes grew large and sparkly, lips curled into a cute little smile while she stared innocently at him.

"Pwease?"

"No, that's not going to work," he said weakly, though his heart was telling him, "come on, go ahead, carry her, while she presses her body against yours."

"Its…not…going to…"

3…2…1,

"Fine," he finally said, his head drooping in defeat.

"Thank you!" she said while giving him a big hug from behind.

"Why me?" he muttered weakly. With nothing left to do, he began to walk with a purple haired cat woman on his back, all the way back home.

"I don't know how you managed to convince me to do this," he said out loud, "no matter how many times I see it, when you whip that face out, I immediately do whatever you want. That is just not right."

"It's because you're such a softy," she murmured,

"I am the former Captain of Black Ops, I hardly think that being soft allows me to hold such a job," he reminded her, "in that outfit you have to be cold as steel and hard as a-"

"blah blah blah," she interrupted, "you just can't admit you're a softy."

"You're enjoying this aren't you?"

Yoruichi just giggled.

"Ugh, I swear if you weren't being cute I'd have thrown you through five buildings," threatened Kuroda,

"Oh, you think I'm cute?" she asked mischievously.

"I hate my life."

"Uh huh,"

"How did I ever end up with you for a friend? I mean seriously, as a captain of the black ops, I wasn't even supposed to have friends," he said.

"Plus," he continued, "My work should have kept me from all social interactions with anybody. Maybe it's Kisuke's fault. Wouldn't be the first time something bad happened to me because of him. Heck I hardly even want remember all that teasing you gave me. To everyone else I could keep a straight face, but when it came to you, I lost my cool in less than 5 minutes."

He sighed, "I guess I can't complain though. If you weren't my friend, I probably would have committed suicide or something by now. Though, dying doesn't seem that horrible when you considered what I had to do on a daily basis."

No response.

"What? No witty come back? No teasing? No kitty voice? Nothing?"

Finally, he heard a response. Well, sort of.

He heard snoring.

"Are you asleep?" he asked, "How the hell did you fall asleep?"

More snoring.

"Right…it's you, how could I forget," he muttered, a sweat drop rolling down his face.

Before long the two of them had gotten back to Kuroda's apartment, there Kuroda gently laid Yoruichi down on her bed for the night.

"Jeez," he muttered as he walked down stairs and opened the fridge to get a bottle of milk, "it's like having a pet or something."

He chugged down the contents of the bottle and threw it away before going to bed himself. Though when he lay down, he found he could not drift off, no matter how many sheep he counted.

"Was that last one 899 or 999? I can't remember," he muttered to himself, "great, now I have to start over."

Just then, his cell phone began to ring. He calmly answered, fully knowing who was calling.

"What is it Kisuke?"

"Eh? How did you know it was me?" asked the shop keeper with genuine surprise.

"Caller ID," replied Kuroda, "maybe you should stop using that old land line phone and catch up with the times."

"Yeah whatever, anyway I was just calling to find out how that little adventure turned out," said Kisuke,

Kuroda paused for a moment before asking, "How did you know about that?"

"I know everything," replied Kisuke.

Kuroda decided it was best not to pry too far and just answer, "It went well, I guess, but you were right. Something big is going down and soon.

"I know," said Kisuke, his voice lacking its usual enthusiasm, "I'm afraid that your human friend, Kurosaki Ichigo will be getting involved with it too."

"You've met him?"

"Yeah, he's pretty strong for a kid who's only been a shinigami for about five days," said Kisuke with a small chuckle.

"I'm not even going to ask how he became a shinigami. I just need to know what I have to look out for," said Kuroda,

"Be on the lookout for any shinigami from soul society, eventually they'll come and investigate the absence of one of their operatives," said Kisuke "and keep an eye on your friend."

"Right," he said,

"By the way, tomorrow might get a bit…messy,"

"Whys that?"

"There's this kid, and he has a bit of a rivalry with Ichigo. His name is Uryu Ishida, pale kid, glasses, raven hair."

"I know him," replied Kuroda, "but what's he got to do with this."

"He's a Quincy."

"Quincy? Didn't I kill most of them?"

"Yeah…you did," replied Kisuke, "this kid will try to prove he's better than Ichigo. I suggest you stick around when things get out of hand."

"I will,"

"Bye."

"Bye."

Kuroda placed his phone back down on his bedside table and lay back down in bed.

It seemed that there would be no peace for him.

#&*^$#&*^&*#^!&#$^*#&!#^*)#*&$(#*$&#(*&$#')

Yoruichi must have been incredibly tired as she did not wake up. She was even still in bed when Kuroda left for school.

Ah yes, School. What an…interesting place. They got the results from the test scores today.

Kuroda had been just walking down the hallway, bag in hand when he suddenly heard someone shout,

"ICHIGO IS RANKED #23! IT'S A LIE! HOW COULD YOU BE RANKED SO HIGH!"

"That, would be Kiego," muttered Kuroda as he calmly strolled down the hallway,

"Shut up man, I actually study for tests. You should try it some time," said Ichigo,

"AHA! So that's what you do when your home! You always say that your too busy to hang out with me! But as it turns out, your just studying like a total nerd!" he concluded, "OHNO! I'm friends with a NERD!"

"What a bunch of idiots," muttered Kuroda,

"Maybe you'd like these thick nerd glasses as a farewell gift!" suggested Kiego while wearing a pair of thick soda bottle glasses, which Ichigo proceeded to destroy, along with Kiego's face.

"No thanks," said Ichigo, "Hey Kuroda. Jeez you didn't get any sleep did you?"

"Nope," replied Kuroda, "#23 huh? That's pretty high."

"Well, my hair gives me a lot of problems as it is. I don't want to be an academic failure on top of that," reasoned Ichigo,

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Keigo, who had miraculously healed, "Sorry about earlier, so how about, IF I GIVE YOU THIS OFFICAL NERD HEAD BAND!"

"I refuse," said Ichigo as he snipped off the head band with a pair of scissors.

With that Kiego ran down the hall screaming at the top of his lungs, "FINE! SEE IF I EVER WANT TO HANG OUT WITH YOU EVER AGAIN!"

He continued down when he suddenly came rushing back and said, "well at least you two would never betray me right? Chad old buddy and Kuroda my pal!"

"Do not lump me together with your kind Kiego," Kuroda growled menacingly,

"Uh, yes sir," mumbled Kiego, "Chad?"

Chad simply point up onto the board, he was #11. This time, both Kiego and Mizuro freaked out and ran screaming down the hallway.

"Nerds! All of you! I'll never be seen with you ever again!" declared Kiego before running out of sight.

"What did you get?" asked Ichigo,

"Uh, let's see here," said Kuroda, "#8, pretty good."

"Well if we're nerds, who's the top guy?" asked Ichigo, "Ishida Ametatsu, who's that?"

"He's Uryu, Ishida Uryu," explained Orihime,

"You know him?"

"He's in our class," explained Orihime.

Ichigo's eyes widened and his face went rigid at the realization that he'd never heard of this guy despite him being in the same class.

"You couldn't remember a face or name to save your life could you?" asked Tatsuki "Let's go Orihime."

"In our class?"

"This will not end well," muttered Kuroda.

His prediction came true the next day. Kuroda had decided to follow Ichigo after class during lunch time, he was right to do so. That kid Ishida, challenged him.

The crazy Quincy let loose hollow bait into the air, almost immediately hollows began to pop up all over the radar. Kuroda immediately swallowed his emergency soul candy and abandoned his gigai.

As he ran he grabbed his cellphone and dialed up Kisuke,

"Hello?"

"Kisuke! We've got a problem!" shouted Kuroda, "the Quincy kid let loose hollow bait, now the buggers are practically pouring out of Hueco Mundo!"

"Gotcha, I'll get the team together,"

"Alright, I'll call back with a status update later," he said before hanging up.

'The hollows will go for the people with the highest amount of reiatsu, meaning either Ishida or Ichigo, no problems there. Rukia could have problems, but she's in a gigai. Who else?' he thought to himself.

Take a pause in his stride, he focused his reiatsu into a thin blanket that he used to sweep over the city. Out of all the citizens, he picked up about 4 other people that would most likely attract the hollows attention.

'One of them is, Chad. No problems there, he's resourceful and always manages. The other is, Karin, Ichigo's little sister. No worries, Ichigo's already on his way to help his family. That leaves…Orihime! Tatsuki!'

"Crap, they don't have a chance!" he yelled as he doubled his speed towards the two girls. Luckily they were close to each other, so he'd be able to protect both of them.

Wait, what about him?

His question was soon answered as about a dozen hollows ripped through the sky and appeared in his path.

"You have got to be kidding me," he growled as he drew AnShen, "OUT OF THE WAY!"

The hollows never had a chance, AnShen cut through the like a hot knife through butter and Kuroda its wielder moved too fast for any of them to even try and attack.

A hollow lunged at him from the side only for him to split it in half. Another swooped down at him from above. He easily shred through its defense and chopped off its head.

Still more came to try and take down the powerful shinigami, none succeeded. Using Shunpo he danced past each of his attackers and left them in pieces.

He became so focused in simply barging through his opponents that he failed to notice a hollow jump down from a building and attack him from his flank.

He noticed just as it raised its claws to attack, he spun on his heel to face it when suddenly a black missile tore through its head, killing it instantly.

"Yoruichi!"

"What are you doing?" she asked in her cat form, from on top a street light, "get your butt in gear and save your friends! I'll handle these guys!"

"Uh, right!" he said but suddenly stopped when he realized, "WAIT! YOU AREN"T GOING TO FIGHT NAKED ARE YOU!"

"Well, why not?" she asked nonchalantly,

"ITS INDECENT! PUT SOME CLOTHES ON BEFORE YOU JUMP INTO BATTLE!" he ordered,

"Just go save your friends," she replied before jumping off,

"Argh, that woman will be the death of me," he growled as he sped off to save Orihime, "I hope she'll be alright."

"WAIT WHY AM I WORRIED FOR HER! SHE'S A FORMER CAPTAIN" he yelled, his eyes wide with agitation, "I'M SUPPOSED TO BE FOCUSING ON SAVING ORIHIME!"

With his mind set on focusing on other matters, he rushed towards the school to hopefully save Orihime.

He didn't by the way, but he managed to find her unconscious on the ground.

"I could have sworn that there was a hollow around here just a few moments ago," he muttered as he scooped her off the ground.

"The hollow is dead."

Kuroda turned to see the owner of the voice just behind him.

"Kisuke? Did you kill the hollow?" he asked,

"Not me, her," he said pointing to Orihime, "she killed it."

"Tch, with what? Her bad cooking?" he joked,

"Not exactly," said Kisuke with a grin, "I believe you know this one as well."

He pointed behind him to reveal Tessai carrying Chad on his shoulders.

"Chad? Yeah I know him, is he alright?"

"He'll be absolutely fine, he's tough one," assured Kisuke,

"Yep, that's Chad for you."

"How's about we get these two to my shop, I'll explain the situation on the way, alright?"

"Yeah, let's go."

On their way to his shop, Kisuke explained to Kuroda the powers of his friends. How their involvement with Ichigo had allowed them to develop spiritual awareness, which eventually led to the development of the powers they now had.

"The two are resting safely now," announced Tessai,

"Thank you Tessai," said Kisuke as he sipped his tea, "now, any questions?"

"Yeah, how did so little bait, attract so many hollows?"

"I'm not sure," admitted Kisuke, "It might be something else that's attracting them, some other player."

"You mean like Heijin's mysterious benefactor?"

Kisuke took another sip before saying, "possibly, I can't be sure."

It was just then that they began to hear voices coming from the other room.

"Looks like your friends are up," said Kisuke,

"Yeah,"

"You'd best come with me when I go to explain to them what's going on, they know you so your presence will calm them down," said Kisuke,

"Sure," he replied as he stood up, "gonna be real interesting to explain to them why I'm holding a katana."

"Ya know you seem really stressed," said Kisuke as he walked towards the door,

"I'm always like this."

"You should go to the beach or something," he suggested,

"Pft, I hate the beach," he replied.

With that they pushed through the door and into the room where Chad and Orihime sat.

"I see your finally awake," said Kisuke,

Both of the high school students turned to face them.

"Kuroda? Is that you?" asked Orihime,

"Hey Orihime, Hey Chad," he replied casually,

"Hey" said Chad, "are you the one who saved us?"

"Well, technically you guys saved yourselves, we just carried you here," explained Kisuke as Tessai brought in a trey full of tea, "now then, where should I begin?"

(*&#(*&(*&#$^&#^*#&^!*(#)$&(*#&#&*#^&)) This is a long chapter!

"This is a lot to take in at once," said Orihime, holding her head in what appeared to be mental agony.

"Then do you deny that you were attack earlier today?" asked Kisuke,

"Uh…"

"Even as we speak, Ichigo continues to fight hollows, and the strong spiritual energy he released has had an effect on you," explained Kisuke, "still, whether or not you walk through the door that has been opened is up to each of you."

"If it helps," said Kuroda, speaking for the first time in the entire conversation, "know that if you do go through the door. I'll help you along the path."

Just then the door opened.

"Boss," said Tessai, "the sky rips have begun to converge."

"Preparations?"

"Complete."

"Time to go then," said Kisuke as he turned around, Kuroda similarly grabbed AnShen and followed his friend.

"Come along won't you?" asked Kuroda as Kisuke disappeared through the door, his friends staring at him as though he were an alien being, "I'll show you what lies beyond that door."

#*(#&^#&*(^$&*(#()*#)

"That…is a lot of hollows," commented Kuroda as he stared at the massive horde that had surrounded Ichigo and Uryu.

Behind them, Jinta, Ururu, and Tessai prepared themselves for battle. Kisuke had placed Chad and Orihime on an overpass that gave them a good view of the situation that was unfolding.

By now the sky looked like a piece of cracked concrete, jagged lines ran from side to side and hollows seemed to simply ooze out of the ruptures.

"You know, I feel slightly responsible for this happening," admitted Kuroda,

"Why's that?" asked Kisuke,

"I wiped out so many of that boy's kin," said Kuroda solemnly, his eyes darkening as he saw flashes of the past, "now it's pushed him to do this."

"You were under orders," Kisuke pointed out, "you didn't have a choice. No one did."

Kuroda snorted in disgust.

"Oh look," said Kisuke in attempt to change the subject, "seems the grand finale is about to start."

Suddenly, giant white boney fingers slid through larges hole in the sky. Together they slowly tore it wide open, as it grew larger, it slowly revealed what they had all come to observe: the Gillian.

For any of them fighting Gillian would have been like fighting a dog, but they wouldn't be the ones fighting. They'd come to watch Ichigo fight it.

"This better not get him killed Kisuke," growled Kuroda as his hand gripped AnShen's hilt.

"Have faith Kuroda, have faith."

With that, Kuroda dashed forth.

"Its friggin huge!" exclaimed Ichigo,

"My bait…it couldn't have caused this!" said Uryu as though he was trying to convince himself.

"Are you still denying it?" asked Ichigo in disbelief,

The hollows surrounding them took advantage of the distraction their larger brother had provided and charged forth.

"Shit," they both swore as both warriors readied themselves.

Ichigo prepared to swing at the nearest hollow when suddenly it exploded into a dozen bloody pieces.

"What the?" his eyes wide with surprise, he looked around to see that all the hollows had been destroyed in a similar fashion, their bodies literally carpeting the ground.

In the middle of it all, stood Kuroda, katana in hand.

"Yo," he said while giving a quick informal salute,

Ichigo's jaw dropped and his eyes bulged forth, letting out the loudest gasp of surprise anyone of them had ever heard.

"K-K-K-Kuroda! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" he yelled,

"No time for that," he replied,

Another wave of hollow rushed forth from the tree line only to be cut down by a barrage of gun fire. Ichigo turned to see the source was…a little girl with pig tails.

"Hello," she said shyly, "I apologize for being late."

Jinta and Tessai suddenly charge forth and dealt with the remaining stragglers.

"We thought you could use some help," said Kisuke, finally stepping forth.

"Mr. Sandal Hat?"

"Ichigo," said Kuroda, snapping the orange hair boy from his trance, "I'm sure you have a lot of questions right now, I'll answer them later but for now we need you to take care of that big guy."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed and nodded in understanding, "Gotch ya,"

"Come on Uryu, let's go!" he yelled before charging off,

"Ichigo! Don't be crazy!" called Uryu as he ran after the Orange haired warrior.

Kuroda watched as his friend rushed to take on the giant hollow slowly lumbering through the park.

"Ichigo," shouted someone, Kuroda turned to see Rukia shouting for his friend to stop, only for Kisuke to stop her.

'I wonder how he's doing so far' he thought to himself, he looked towards the Gillian and saw Ichigo jump at it, only to bounce off like some pebble.

Needless to say, this did not bolster Kuroda's confidence.

Kuroda sighed and walked over to Kisuke, then punched him in the face.

"OW!"

"Please tell me you have this planned out," growled Kuroda as tears comically spilled out of Kisuke's eyes.

"I do, I do! Just don't hit me again!" whined Kisuke,

Kuroda turned back to watch Ichigo, only to see his sword strapped on top of Uryu's head. Which was, admittedly funny to look at, but it also lowered his confidence even further.

"They…are going to die," he muttered,

His words seemed to be coming true as the Gillian started charging up its bright red cero, Kuroda could feel the thing pulling reiatsu towards its mouth and gradually build it up.

Ichigo, always being a man of action, did the smartest thing anyone could have thought of at the time. He grabbed his sword and charged towards the Gillian.

Just as he closed in on the behemoth, it fired its red cero and aimed it directly at the Shinigami at it's feet.

Kuroda's eyes widened as he watched the attack drop down on Ichigo like a thousand pounds of rock. It was amazing that Ichigo wasn't immediately vaporized. Somehow he'd managed to catch the attack on the side of his sword.

For Ichigo, the experience was incredibly intense. He really did feel like a thousand pounds of rock had just fallen on top of him. He didn't even know how his arms were still attached to his body. But he knew he couldn't afford to let himself drop, he pushed back with all his might but it was like fighting with a brick wall.

He roared in fury as he desperately tried to push back.

Just a bit more, all he needed was a small push and he knew he could win. He got his push, suddenly an unknown source of energy flowed into his arms and he felt himself push back against the thing's attack.

Ichigo knew he could win, gritting his teeth together. He pushed up with all his might. His knees rocked from the exertion and his arms were strained to their limit, but he pushed on.

He roared to the skies as he pushed forth one last time and sent the thing's attack right back at it.

A beam of light cut across its body and up to its face. The Gillian roared in pain as it stumbled back into the hole it had come out of.

Reluctantly it pulled the sky back together and soon disappeared altogether.

"VICTORY!" screamed Ichigo,

"You knew that would happen, didn't you?" asked Kuroda, a little pissed off.

"Maybe," chuckled Kisuke,

Kuroda was just about to relax, when a bright orange light suddenly blanketed the park.

He looked to see that the source of it was in fact Ichigo. Kuroda's eyes widened in realization, Ichigo had let loose too much reiatsu too quickly, his body was breaking down from the strain. This was definitely not good, if he didn't stabilize soon, the break down would take out everything within a 5 block radius.

Amazingly enough it was the Quincy to act first. He stepped on Ichigo's sword and began to channel the Shinigami's out of control reiatsu and fire it out of his bow. He sent arrow after arrow in hopes of disposing of the dangerous reiatsu.

"Uryu stop! Your arm, it's getting all torn up!" cried Ichigo,

"Shut up!" shouted Uryu, "If we don't both survive this, we won't have each other to beat up! So just be quite and let me save you damn it!"

Uryu screamed in silent pain, his glasses began to fog up from his perspiration. The pain was becoming even worse, he didn't know if he could keep it up any longer.

He reached for his bow in hopes or releasing another arrow, his fingers just barely brushed the string when he felt a hand stop him.

He looked to see a man with dark hair and red eyes holding him back.

"Well done Quincy," Kuroda calmly spoke, then suddenly pushed the Quincy back, "I'll take over from here."

"Kuroda," Ichigo said weakly as he watched his friend reach down towards his zanpaktou.

"Kyuuketsu Ude," he whispered Kuroda,

The moment he finished his sentence, his arm suddenly became covered by a layer of red reiatsu. The blood red energy slowly morphed into the shape of his arm and hand, then slowly sharpened the tips of his fingers.

To any on lookers, it almost seemed like Kuroda's hand was covered in red fire.

Gently, he reached out to touch Ichigo's zanpaktou. The moment he did, he reiatsu surround his arm became erratic, parts of it seemed to erupt like miniature geysers then calm down.

Gradually the bright light from Ichigo's sword died down, leaving Kuroda with a large blue orb in his reiatsu covered hand.

He quickly crushed it and let the particles float off into the sky.

"Kuroda," Ichigo said as he weakly tried to push himself up.

"No need to thank me," said Kuroda as he walked away, his cloak fluttering rather dramatically.

As he walked by Kisuke, he heard him say, "been a while since you used that."

"It was for a friend," said Kuroda, "I need no other reason to use it."

With that said, he walked away, leaving Kisuke to sort out the mess.

**($&#*(&$*(#$^(&*#&$#&*(&#$*(#*&$#*((())*(&))*)*)**

**A/N**

**Jeez, that was rather long. I understand that there was very little action in this chapter, but it was mainly to just push the story along. I want to get to the part where they go to soul society and everything, because that's where the action is. Heh heh heh.**

**Anyway, please review and stuff. Tell your friends.**

**Here's an Omake**

"**Okay everyone" shouted DB84, "let's get this place cleaned up. We have a lot more to do tomorrow and I don't want random crap just lying around when we start shooting."**

"**Hey boss," said Kuroda,**

"**Hm?"**

"**Can I ask you a question?"**

"**Shoot."**

"**Why is my character so…weird?"**

"**What are you talking about?" asked DB84 indignantly,**

"**Well, first I'm super serious, then I'm a sadistic torturer, then I'm loud, then I'm serious again. What's up with that?" asked Kuroda,**

"**Its all part of the plan," said DB84, pushing his glasses up devilishly,**

"**What plan?"**

"**The plan," he repeated, with emphasis on 'plan'.**

"**Well, okay, if you say so." Said Kuroda, "but what's with me always getting suckered by Yoruichi?"**

"**Its entertaining to write," replied DB84, "now if you'll excuse me, I have to go watch some of my favorite Bleach episodes, listen to 'Velonica', and prepare for the next chapter."**

"**Jeez," muttered Kuroda, "this guy has no life beyond Bleach."**

Kyuuketsu Ude/ Translated as: Vampire's Arm


	10. Chapter 10

**So, chapter 10. You know what's really funny…yeah I have no idea. I've got nothing witty to say. By the way, you guys ever feel like asking questions, I'll be sure to answer in the funniest way possible.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, really, I don't.**

**Note: This chapter is also to move the story along so don't expect too much action.**

Chapter 10

So, do you have a girlfriend?

The day after the arrival of the Gillian and Ichigo's encounter with Uryu was a breath of fresh air. For once, things were relatively normal. School was boring, Kiego was an idiot, and Kuroda was still being tormented by Yoruichi, a very typical day.

Oh, and Rukia and Ichigo continued arguing like some old married couple. The only thing out of the ordinary was the fact that Ichigo hadn't talked to him at all about anything related to yesterday. After all, Kuroda had promised to answer any questions the kid had.

Even at lunch time, Ichigo brought up no mention of yesterday's events. Instead he proceeded to invite Uryu to lunch, despite Kiego obviously being against the idea.

Kuroda, being the last one out every day, wasn't all that surprised when he saw that Rukia was still in the room. She had had had a very odd look to her the whole day, like she couldn't wait to do something.

As he reached the door, Rukia suddenly blocked his path.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

But finally, Kuroda asked, "can I help you with something?"

"Who are you?" she asked sternly,

"Kuroda Ryou, student at Karakura High," he replied calmly,

"Don't joke around with me," shouted Rukia, "I was there yesterday when Ichigo wounded the menos. I saw you help him along with Mr. Urahara's people! You wielded a katana, not just any katana, a zanpaktou!"

Kuroda remained silent.

"Then," she continued, "When Ichigo's reiatsu began to go out of control, you saved him."

"Did I?" he asked, "Ah, yes. I did."

"So who are you?"

"Who do you think I am?" he asked,

"I have a hunch," she replied, "your katana hilt is pure black with a red diamond pattern, and then there's that strange technique you use to grab reiatsu. Only one shinigami has ever been reported to use a technique like that."

Kuroda's faced darkened as she listed off the facts, they were all true, every single one of them.

"So you know who I am," he said, "why ask me?"

"I want to hear it from you," she replied,

"I'd rather not," he said, suddenly he lowered himself to her height and whispered; "don't think that turning me in, will save you from them."

The woman's eyes widened at the sound of his words, he body suddenly tensed up and her breath became shallow.

"How long have you been in the world of the living?" he asked, "9, maybe 10 days? That's well over the time limit. Pretty soon, they'll come after you, see what's happened. Don't think that telling them where a rouge is hiding out will save you or him from their wrath. In fact, you'd best keep my presence a secret. Sending them after me, would be like sending lambs to the slaughter."

With that said, Kuroda pushed past Rukia out to the hallway. He was just about to continue on his way, when he heard Rukia say, "Please."

"Huh?"

"When they do come, will you please protect him? He's a good person, he doesn't deserve to die," she said solemnly, "Please save him."

Kuroda paused before saying, "sure."

Without another word, he walked on outside to enjoy his lunch break, but first, he had to make a stop by the office.

$(*$&%*(#$)(*()#$*())_#)(#*$)

"Alright, where is she," he mumbled to himself, impatiently tapping his watch as he waited outside the boy's locker room, "she said that she'd be here around this time."

He paced back and forth for a bit, trying to pass the time until she showed up.

Finally he heard, "Oi, Kuroda, sorry I'm late."

"Well it's about time," he muttered as he turned around, "did you get stuck in traffic orrrrrrrrr what the heck!"

"What's wrong?" asked Yoruichi,

"What's wrong? The real question is, what's wrong with you! Why are you wearing this school's uniform?" he screamed,

It was true, Yoruichi stood in front of him wearing the school's uniform. But the uniform had clearly not been made for a woman of her…uh…figure, as it clung very tightly to her skin, which was not a good thing for Kuroda.

"Well, I thought that if I wanted to blend into the world of the living, I should adopt a disguise, like that Rukia girl," she explained,

"Yeah, that's a real good disguise. You look like some street hooker in a red light district or something!" he yelled,

"Oh come on," she said, "it doesn't look that bad."

"I didn't say that it looks bad, I just said that it's not a good disguise! Those are two different things!" he yelled, "just, get back into cat form. Please!"

"Alright fine," she muttered as she begun stripping off her clothes, "these cloths are too tight anyway."

"Hey," screamed Kuroda as he quickly whipped around, "warn me before you do that!"

"Don't be such a prude," said Yoruichi in her cat voice, "is this more acceptable?"

"Yes," he mumbled, his cheeks slightly tinted with red.

"Something tells me you did enjoy seeing me in that outfit," teased Yoruichi,

"If you don't shut up soon, I'm going to skin your hide," he growled darkly, "let's just get going already."

Together the two of them left the school campus and walked towards Kisuke's shop. They traveled in silence, only breaking it to throw in the occasional comment.

Before long, they arrived at their destination where Jinta and Ururu were busy sweeping the front of the store. Well, Ururu was sweeping, Jinta was pretending to swing a bat or something.

"Eh? It's the emo," said Jinta as soon as he saw Kuroda, Yoruichi meowed, which was essentially her cat laugh.

"Hello Ururu, could you please go get Kisuke for me?" asked Kuroda,

"Okay," she replied quietly, without another word she opened the door and stepped inside.

A moment later, Kisuke came pouncing out the front door.

"Yoruichi! It's you!" cried Kisuke as tears of joy comically fell down his face, he bounded over towards them and proceeded scoop up Yoruichi in both hands, Kuroda flinched.

"Upsy daisy, hello Yoruichi! How's my favorite little trouble maker?" asked Kisuke in a codling voice,

Kuroda face palmed, hearing a full grown man talk like that was just wrong, and on top of that, he was practically fondling Yoruichi. Sure, she's in cat form but still. She's still…a she.

"Kisuke," he muttered in a dangerous tone, "please put down Yoruichi."

"Huh, why?" asked the blonde man, completely oblivious to the horrible danger just two feet away.

"Because, I said so," he growled, Kuroda let that sink into his friend's thick head.

"Uh, alright, whatever you say man," said Kisuke nervously as he gently placed Yoruichi back on the ground.

"good," said Kuroda, "now if your done screwing around, we came here to discuss important matters."

"Later, later, first we eat! Because I'm starving! Its lunch time you know and at lunch time people eat! Just because we're soul's doesn't me we don't eat," said Kisuke as he walked back into his store.

Kuroda sighed heavily as he followed the blond man in with Yoruichi in tow. Why was he this guy's friend again?

"I'm going to go think on the roof for a bit," he announced, "why don't you go on ahead and catch up with Kisuke."

"Alright," said Yoruichi, "see you in a bit."

With that, Kuroda climbed onto the shop's roof and lay down on the most comfortable spot he could find. He wouldn't bother talking to Kisuke just yet. When Kisuke ate, it was nearly impossible to talk about anything, the man's food could hold a surprisingly large amount of food.

Eventually his mind wandered to the future. In his mind, he knew that eventually this would lead to a skirmish into Soul Society, no doubt he would be asked to go.

Unlike most things, he welcomed such an opportunity. His love for that place, had long since fled. He wouldn't mind causing some chaos in that place. The Gotei 13 needed to be taught a lesson in humility. Some Shinigami were kind hearted, that much was true.

But large majorities of the shinigami were arrogant; they thought just because they'd joined into the Gotei 13, they had the right to act superior. They strut around Rukongai as though it were their own personal playground.

Worst of all, the captains seemed to take no notice of it.

Then there was that court, Central 46. They were a joke. They were supposed to spread justice, give fair trial, and bring peace. Bunch of crap. The idea of killing all of them had passed through his mind more than once, or at the very least, causing some sort of chaos among their ranks.

He remembered all too well, how they'd sentenced him and 8 others to death, and forced Tessai and Kisuke to go into exile.

Kuroda honestly didn't mind that he was in exile, but Kisuke, he was different. He could have had a truly successful life in soul society, him and all the others. They didn't deserve to be kicked out.

Kuroda frowned as the dark thoughts overtook his mind.

Before long, he nodded off into a deep sleep.

($%$#^%$!^%#$#%^$#*)%&*)

Inside the shop, Kisuke happily munched away at his food as Yoruichi sat there and watched him, occasionally licking her fur or scratching her ears.

"Are you sure you won't have anything to eat Yoruichi?" asked Kisuke,

"I'm fine thank you, not particularly hungry today," she replied,

"You've been a busy little cat," said Kisuke as he sipped his tea, "Kuroda and you always have some wild times."

"What can I say, he's a good traveling partner," Yoruichi,

"You can say that again," said Kisuke as he chomped down a large shrimp.

"Tell me," said Yoruichi, "what's he been like this past century?"

"Well" said Kisuke as he slurped down his soup, "he's been mostly the same. Moody, angry, punches me in the face a lot. He also keeps thinking about you, entire time we've been here, he comes by every week to see if I've had word from you."

"I see," said Yoruichi very quietly, "tell me, is he still mad at me for leaving all those years ago."

Kisuke's mood visibly darkened from his usual brightness, then said, "I can't say for sure. He still seems to be a bit angry, but now that you're here, I think he's managed to get over it for the most part."

"I see."

"He's a bit of a puppy you know, even if he won't admit it himself, he's still the same kid we found on the streets all those years ago," said Kisuke

_Flash Back_

_Kuroda was just a child back then, he had originally come from district 79. One of the worst districts there could be, the streets ran red with blood on a daily basis and every moment was a struggle to survive. It was no place for a child to grow up._

_But Kuroda spent his first 20 years in that horrid place. Scavenging what he could whenever he could and killing whenever necessary._

_A child killing, perish the thought. But that's what Kuroda did._

_It was on his 11__th__ year that he summoned enough courage to travel elsewhere. He wondered for many weeks, surviving on a little more than scraps._

_He way young back then, and couldn't understand why other people seemed fine when they didn't eat for weeks._

_He tried to keep his own sprits up by entertaining himself with a small trick he'd learned. If he concentrated hard enough, he could make an orange sized ball of glowing light._

_He never noticed that he felt hungry after each time he did it._

_Eventually he reached the 10__th__ district. To him it felt like stepping into another dimension. No one tried to jump him, people offered real smiles, and food was not that hard to come by._

_He had been of a truly kind heart back then, despite his battered exterior. His face always seemed to keep some sort of hidden happiness._

_He joined with a small group of children. Together they would steal food, cause mischief, and just have fun. It was a nice time._

_And whenever they made a successful swipe, Kuroda made sure everyone else had more food than him._

_Then one day, they had a run of bad luck. The steal had been unsuccessful and they got themselves cornered. The store owner had beaten them, badly._

_One of the children, a girl, had taken it extra hard. After that day she gained a fever and her wounds seem to become infected._

_Kuroda had opted to steal some medicine and bandages._

_He'd gotten the both, but now he was on the run._

_He ran through the streets, swiftly maneuvering through the crowd as he held on to his prize with a death grip. His lungs worked on over time as he tried to keep up his speed. He could still hear the men behind him, shouting at him, their anger almost palpable._

_He winced as he felt his leg injuries cry in pain. But now was not the time to cry, he had to get this to his friends._

_With that in mind be rushed forward, praying to whatever deity that would bother to listen that he would be successful._

_Hoping to lose his pursuers, he turned hard into an alley._

_No good, they had seen him go in._

_He rushed forward, turning into another alley._

_He remembered that just up ahead was an open market that was usually crowded. His small size would give him the edge in maneuvering and help him blend with the people._

_He could lose them there and-_

_OOF!_

_Crap, he'd bumped into someone and lost his footing._

_He rubbed his thumping head and looked up to see a man dressed in a black Shihakusho and face mask._

_There were at least five of them, all surrounding an elaborately designed carriage, the kind used for transporting nobles and other people of significance._

"_Watch it street rat," growled the man, "this is the Shihoin clan's princess here, stay out of the way and show respect."_

"_Uh, S-Sorry," Kuroda sputtered,_

"_There he is, get him!" he heard from behind,_

_Kuroda's heart skipped a beat as he tried to get up, but was immediately stopped by a pair of strong hands grabbing him by the arm._

"_Got ya," growled the man,_

_Kuroda's eyes began to clench his teeth and his eyes began to water. He would not accept this outcome, without thinking he sunk his teeth into the man's fingers._

_The man immediately recoiled in pain._

_The other took his friend's place and grabbed Kuroda by his shirt; the boy lashed out and viciously beat against the man's chest, but to no avail._

"_What's going on out here?" asked a voice,_

_The two men and young boy froze as the door to the carriage opened, revealing a young and beautiful young girl. Her hair was a dark purple, wrapped into what looked like an elaborate kind of bun, and her skin was a very dark tone._

"_Princess," said a startled guard, "please, get back inside, you need not concern yourself with these peasants."_

"_I said what is going on out here," she repeated, this time in a much more stern tone._

"_Uh, of course," said the guard, "you two, the princess is addressing you! Explain to her your predicament."_

"_Uh, yes. We simply caught this street rat stealing medical supplies from our store," explained one man,_

"_Yes, we were just chasing him down," said the second,_

"_What about you?"_

_It took a moment for Kuroda to realize she was talking to him, "I stole the medicine."_

"_See, he admits it!"_

"_Why?" she asked,_

"_My friend needs the bandages and stuff," he replied shyly,_

"_That's no reason to steal," shouted the first man._

"_I don't care" was his reply, "she's my friend, I'm willing to do anything for her."_

"_Little bastard," growled the second man, who then proceeded to punch Kuroda in the back of the head._

"_STOP," commanded the princess,_

_Almost immediately a guard had his wakazashi against the man's neck. All fight having suddenly left him, he remained frozen for fear of that blade inching any closer._

"_I'll pay for the medicine and bandages," said the Princess,_

_End of Flashback_

"Good times," said Kisuke as he took another sip of tea.

"Yeah, he was so different back then," said Yoruichi, "though some things never change."

"Yeah," said Kisuke, "like him being a prude."

They shared a laugh at the thought.

"Though, through all the years that I've known him, I've never been able to understand one thing," said Yoruichi,

"What's that?"

"Why does he hate taking off his arm bands so much?"

Though few would have noticed it, Kisuke visibly winced, his hand unconsciously rubbing his right shoulder.

"Uh…well, you know him, he likes to challenge himself," said Kisuke,

"Hm, I guess he does," she said, "Still, I find it weird."

"Oh, that reminds me, where is Kuroda?" asked Kisuke,

"On the roof," replied Yoruichi, "I do not believe he wished to see you eat again."

"Could you go get him for me? I need to talk to him about something,"

"Sure."

Yoruichi stood up and pounced through the open window and onto the roof. There she found Kuroda, sleeping on the roof, softly snoring as the wind brushed over him.

"Heh, as much as he'd like us to believe, he's not as tough as he says," whispered Yoruichi as she quietly crept over to his sleeping form. As she did, a sly thought crept into her mind, a small grin spreading over her feline face.

Kuroda for his part was unaware as to what was about to befall him.

At the moment he was having a rather nice dream in which he wasn't a fugitive and just a normal human. Then, the world suddenly lost its supply of oxygen and everyone suffocated.

"Are you awake yet?"

Kuroda opened his eyes to see a black mass of fur obscuring his vision and blocking his windpipe.

"Wha vha veck!" he shouted,

His hand immediately grabbed the black ball of fur and lifted it off his face. He coughed violently as his lungs tried to regain the air they had been so cruelly deprived of.

"Ah, you are awake," said Yoruichi, quite pleased with herself.

"What was that for," asked Kuroda, his lips curled into a frown

"I was trying to wake you up," Yoruichi replied casually, "I figured I might as well have some fun while I was at it."

"Sitting on my face and depriving me of air is your idea of fun?"

"Yes, yes it is," smiled Yoruichi,

Kuroda let out a low growl that would have made most people wet their pants. But Yoruichi was a cat and therefore, not a person.

"So why did you wake me up?" asked Kuroda as he set the feline down.

"Kisuke said that he wanted to talk with you," explained Yoruichi as Kuroda combed his hair with his fingers, "he sent me to get you."

"Of course he did," said Kuroda, clapping his hands and rubbing them together, "he's too lazy to do it himself."

Kuroda jumped up to his feet and leapt down from the roof and pounced through the window.

"Jeez, don't you people use the door?" asked Kisuke from his seat,

"No," replied Kuroda as he sat down next to the blond man, "from where I come from, using the door usually got you killed."

"Why's that?"

"Well, there'd usually be a person with a sword behind it, ready to cut off your head and take all your possessions," explained Kuroda,

"My, such a horrible place," chuckled Kisuke,

"You have no idea," murmured Kuroda, "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Kisuke smirked, he reached under the table and pulled out something, "I've got your new arm band."

"Great," said Kisuke as he rolled up his sleeve to reveal the two he still had, "go ahead and put it on."

Kisuke scooted over to his friend and began carefully wrapping the band around his friend's arm.

"Will my reiatsu go back to what it was before?" asked Kuroda as he watched his friend work, "I feel…weird, without it."

"Not surprising," said Kisuke as he continued to work with the band, "your body isn't used to such a large output of reiatsu. It would take some time, but eventually you'll adapt."

"But, won't the band fix that?"

Kisuke winced,

"Unfortunately no," admitted Kisuke, "I'm afraid that if I tried to put on another limiter that pushes you back down, it's just be torn to shreds. After being bottled up for so long, your reiatsu isn't going to be pushed back."

Kuroda sighed heavily, then asked, "So what's the new band going to do."

"I'm fitting it between your third and second band, it's essential that you be split into 3 levels in order to combat your…problem," explained Kisuke who had finally finished fiddling with his invention, "by the way, have any symptoms appeared?"

"Well, I feel weird around Yoruichi, does that count?" asked Kuroda,

"Uh…no," replied Kisuke, a sweat drop rolling down his head, "that's…pretty natural."

"Then no, I've felt relatively normal these past few days," replied Kuroda.

"Honestly, I don't know what's normal for you Kuroda. A couple of centuries ago, you smiling was normal," said Kisuke, Kuroda blushed slightly at the memory.

_Flash Back_

"_Whoa!"_

_A young Kuroda gaped in awe at the Shihoin manor. He had never seen anything like it, to him it was like having an entire district to themselves. He'd heard about how nobles lived of course, but still, nothing prepared his for this._

_The princess who'd paid for the bandages and medicine that had undoubtedly saved his friends, had said the only way to pay her back was to play with her for one day._

_Kuroda had happily agreed._

"_What's amazing?" asked a young Yoruichi, "it's just my house."_

"_Yeah, but your house is soooooooo huge!" Kuroda pointed out, his arms flailing about as if to emphasis it's hugeness._

"_Whoa, look at that!" he said pointing at the paintings on the wall._

"_Wow, what's that?" he asked, pointing at the expensive vases decorating the hallway,_

"_What's that cool thing?" he asked, pointing at a few decorative katana,_

"_Oooh, who are they?" he continued, pointing at Yoruichi's serving girls._

_Yoruichi smiled nervously as she continued to watch the boy explore her house. She had to admit though, it was highly entertaining; her serving girls even giggled a little._

"_Kuroda, stop fooling around and have some tea," said Yoruichi,_

_Kuroda turned, perplexed at first, but then smiled when he saw the cups of warm tea at the table. He quickly rushed over at sat down._

"_Wow, this chair is really comfortable," he commented, with that said, he grabbed a cup of tea and sipped its contents, "wow, this tea is really good."_

"_Eh? But it's just normal tea," said a surprised Yoruichi,_

"_Really? This is normal?" asked Kuroda, "then, what do I usually drink?"_

"_haha, your funny," giggled Lady Yoruichi, "I like you."_

"_I like you too Lady Yoruichi," said Kuroda,_

_Yoruichi's cheeks puffed up and said, "aww, don't call me that!"_

"_Then, what should I call you?"_

"_Just Yoruichi!" she ordered,_

"_Uh, okay," replied Kuroda,_

"_Good," said Yoruichi, who suddenly smiled for no apparent reason._

_Kuroda raised an eyebrow, but then proceeded to smile as well._

_Flash Back ends_

"Remember that? Huh? Huh? Do ya?" asked Kisuke,

"Yes, I remember," growled Kuroda as a vein popped on his forehead,

"Now quite, bugging me!" he roared while batting away at the blonde haired man.

"Alright, jeez," muttered Kisuke, "try to kill a guy for brightening the mood."

"Get over it," grumbled Kuroda.

Kisuke just smiled.

"Are you two done with whatever you're doing?"

The two men turned to see Yoruichi sitting at the door, tail casually waving in the air.

"I think we're done here," said Kisuke, "why don't you two go wait out in the front. We can discuss business there."

"All right," said Kuroda as he stood up and started walking.

Together the two of them walked out the store and sat down at the front porch. No conversation was passed between them, they simply watched as the clouds went by.

After what seemed like forever, Yoruichi finally broke the silence.

"So, how's your love life?" she asked,

"WHAT!"

"Was I unclear?" asked Yoruichi, "I wanted to know how you were doing romantically."

"I heard you the first time," growled Kuroda, "but why are you asking something like that? That's kind of personal!"

"Oh, so you haven't been doing well?"

"I didn't say that!"

"Your avoiding the question a lot, so I can only assume that you haven't been doing well, "explained Yoruichi, "unless, you've gotten yourself a girlfriend."

"Well…no, I haven't," he admitted, "I really don't think I need one."

"Why?"

"Why are you taking such an interest in my love life?"

"I just am."

"That's a really great answer."

"Are you going to answer my question or not?"

"Fine," he said, "my first reason is, getting a girlfriend means I have to take on more responsibility. I don't think I can take on more responsibilities, I already have a boat load of them as it is considering my current situation."

"Second," he continued, "I don't think I'd make a very good boyfriend. I'm barely good at being a friend."

'This guy has no self-esteem,' thought Yoruichi,

"Third, I haven't really found anyone that I like."

"No one?"

"No one," he replied,

"No one from school?" asked Yoruichi,

"What the heck? Do you know how young they all are?"

"What about in your business? Any cute secretaries?"

"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer," he mumbled,

"What about back home? Anyone?" she continued to ask,

"No," he replied, "even if I did, I'm quite sure our relationship would be sorely strained if not completely over. Time has a knack for deteriorating and changing things we once knew."

Yoruichi grunted in agreement.

"Are you trying to get with anyone?"

"Why do you keep asking these kinds of questions?" asked Kuroda in an exasperated tone.

"I'm just curious," replied Yoruichi,

"Haven't you ever heard, curiosity killed the cat?"

"No," she proudly responded. It was a lie, but there was no way Kuroda could prove that.

He sighed once again, getting very tired of his purple haired friend's antics and weird questions that continued to annoy him to no end.

"I'm not 'trying to get' with anyone" he answered, "I don't have time for that kind of thing. Besides, how many girls would want to go out with me? I'm not exactly someone you want to go have dinner with."

After a short pause, Yoruichi said, "I'd date you."

Imagine if you will that your computer just crashed. Everything's frozen, nothing works, and the only way to fix it is that you reboot the system.

That is more or less what happened to Kuroda's brain. Everything just suddenly shutdown, he was simply unable to handle what he'd just been fed.

By the time he was capable of thinking without pain, Yoruichi had been staring at him for a solid 2 minutes.

When he could finally form words again, the only thing he could say was, "Oh."

Again, there was a short, but awkward pause.

Yoruichi then said, "What about you? Would you date me?"

Another crash, except this time, he fell onto the ground.

Uh…I don't think his arm is supposed to bend that way…maybe we should call a doctor…anyone?

…MEDIC!

!*(#^(*&$*(#^)(*!&^$()!*&#!(*)&(*!^!$()

"Hey there Yoruichi," said Kisuke as he walked out on to the front steps, "I brought you some milk."

"Thank you Kisuke," said Yoruichi,

"Eh! What's wrong with Kuroda?" asked Kisuke, noticing that his friend looked particularly moody, like, more than usual.

"Not sure," replied Yoruichi.

"I don't want to talk about," murmured Kuroda,

"Your face looks kind of red, have you been out in the sun too long?" asked Kisuke,

"Leave me alone," warned Kuroda

"Fine, yeesh, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," muttered Kisuke,

"Stop bothering him Kisuke," said Yoruichi, "we've got more important things to talk about."

"Such as?"

"The two of them are already here."

The air seemed to suddenly become heavier as both men tensed up, the mood around them changing instantaneously.

"Do you want to talk about this before or after you have your milk?" asked Kisuke,

"We talk about it now," demanded Kuroda, "I've wasted enough time as it is."

"Very well," said Kisuke, putting down the bottle of milk as he sat down, "who did they send?"

"Officers," replied Yoruichi, "a Captain and his Lieutenant, we actually know one of them."

"Is it Ukitake?" asked Kuroda,

"No."

"Kyoraku?" asked Kisuke,

"No," she replied again, "It's Byakuya."

"What? That arrogant little kid's a Lieutenant?" asked a surprised Kisuke,

"He's actually a captain now," corrected Yoruichi,

"Doesn't matter who they are," said Kuroda, "the real question is, how do we handle this?"

Kisuke sucked in a long stream of air, then released it all at once, "that's a good question. No doubt Ichigo will soon become involved."

"Agreed, the kid's in too deep to crawl away now," said Kuroda.

"I suggest, a wait and see approach," said Kisuke, "if Ichigo is anything like I've learned about him, then he'll charge right at them. We'll have to be on standby to save him."

"Are you suggesting I let my friend get chopped up?" growled Kuroda.

"I'm afraid so," said Kisuke, "I hope you understand."

Kuroda's hands formed fists, his teeth clenched together. But he said nothing.

"No, I don't understand." He replied and for a second it seemed he would completely throw the idea out the window.

"But I'll go along with it." He finally said as he stood up, "I'm used to sending people to their deaths."

With that, he began walking.

"Eh, Kuroda, where are you going?" Kisuke called out.

"Sun's going down," he replied bluntly, "time for me to go home."

As soon as Kuroda was out of sight, Kisuke let out a large sigh.

"Goodness," mumbled Yoruichi, "I hate it when he's like that."

"Considering who he is, I we shouldn't be surprised," Kisuke pointed out, "but don't worry, he's still the same kid we used to invite over to play with."

"I know," replied Yoruichi, "but still, I'm still reminded that he's also the kid I found with blood on his hands."

_Flash Back_

_It all happened when the tree of them were in what could be considered their early teens._

_It was raining that day, which was strange for Soul Society, it almost never rained. But Yoruichi had snuck out anyway, she'd foregone her formal attire that had bogged her down, in exchange for pants and t-shirt. They still marked her as a noble, due to their pattern and obvious higher quality, but still it was better than the dress._

_She didn't mind the rain really; she just wanted to play with Kuroda. She could always find him hanging around the same alley. Today would be no different._

_She rounded the corner and started shouting, "Kuroda? Kuroda? Where are you!"_

"_Yoruichi?" she heard someone say,_

_She instantly smiled and turned to say hello to her friend but found herself unable to when she saw him. He looked horrible._

_The usual light in his eyes was replaced with darkness. His face that usually carried a large and bright smile, instead showed a deep scowl._

_However, the minute he saw her, he immediately tried to put on a smile._

"_Oh, hey there," he said, "it's raining today, why are you out here?"_

"_Is something wrong?" asked Yoruichi, not buying the façade._

"_Huh? Of course not, what makes you think there is?" he asked,_

"_What's on your hands?"_

_Yoruichi's eyes had drifted to Kuroda's hands, they were covered with something dark and viscous._

"_Uh, nothing," he stuttered, quickly putting his hands behind his back._

"_Hey, come one, let me see," demanded Yoruichi as she stepped forward._

"_It's nothing," he assured, "just some…mud, I've been playing in the mud."_

"_Mud doesn't drip like that," she pointed out as she grabbed his right hand. She gasped when she saw what was really on his hands, blood, and a lot of it._

"_You're hurt!" she cried, "you idiot, we need to get you to a doctor right now!"_

"_Uh…no," he managed to say,_

"_Idiot! You're bleeding!" she screamed,_

"_It's, not my blood," said Kuroda, each word striking him like a knife._

"_What?" asked a confused Yoruichi, it was just then that she noticed what was behind Kuroda._

_Behind him, in an offshoot alley was some sort of dark mass. As she inspected closer, she realized that the mass had a shape, the shape of a man, it was human._

_She stepped a bit closer, despite Kuroda warning her not to._

_She sincerely wished she'd listened to him._

_On the ground, just a few feet away from her, was the body of a man._

_He was middle aged, starting to bald, and dressed in typical clothing for this district. But it was not him that was horrifying, but rather, what had been done to him._

_Just under his collar bone, a knife had been brutally stabbed into his body. His nose was bent into an unnatural angle, and his right eye was missing._

_Yoruichi felt as though she were looking at a picture of death._

"_I, didn't have a choice," she heard him say._

_She did what anyone in her position would have done, she screamed._

_**A/N**_

_**Well, I think that was a decent chapter. I apologize for the lack of action, but I felt that this was a good opportunity to make things a little deeper.**_

_**Next chapter will deal with Rukia's imprisonment and Ichigo's training.**_

_**I'm excited to get on to the Soul Society Arc, I've got some great ideas.**_

_**Here's an omake**_

_**Kuroda sat peacefully on the nice Japanese style porch on his nice Japanese Endo style house. The sun was shining brightly, a few clouds floated blissfully over head to provide some shade, and he was finally getting some time off.**_

_**Kuroda let out a large sigh of contentment.**_

_**Of course, with his luck, it didn't last.**_

"_**Hey!" shouted a voice,**_

_**Kuroda looked up to see a man with a long red duster, with a wide brimmed red fedora, and shadows covering his face.**_

"_**AnShen, what do you want?" he asked his zanpaktou,**_

"_**I want to know when you're going to use me properly," replied the sword,**_

"_**What are you talking about?" asked Kuroda, "I always use you when I'm in a fight. You're a sword, it's not hard to use you the right way."**_

"_**I mean when are you gonna use shikai, bankai, my true powers! I'm getting tired of being stuck in a normal katana form, it's been so long I've almost forgotten what I look like!" complained the tall man,**_

"_**Here's a mirror," replied Kuroda as he held it up to the whining man,**_

"_**THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT!" screamed AnShen,**_

"_**Well, if you were to just push away the shadows so we don't have another anime character that never shows his face, maybe you could get other people to remind you what you look like," suggested Kuroda,**_

"_**ARGH! I cannot believe you are my master!" screamed AnShen,**_

"_**Well, you'll just have to bare-with not seeing your Shikai for at least another week," said Kuroda as he returned to cloud watching.**_

"_**What? Why?"**_

"_**Because, Dreamerboy84 is going away for a week," said Kuroda,**_

"_**Going away? Where?"**_

"_**I don't know man! I didn't ask!" replied Kuroda, "but he did say that he wasn't looking forward to it. He hates traveling."**_

_**Somewhere on a plane**_

"_**If they sing O Canada one more time," growled DB84,**_

_**Yup, I'm sorry guys and gals. I really am.**_

_**Please comment and subscribe, tell your friends, tell your friends friends. Tell your friends, cousins, brother, on their mothers side!**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Woot, I'm finally back from Canada! God, I hate traveling.**

**It's nice to be back, I hope I didn't make you wait too long. I'll get to the story in a moment but first, I'd like to give a shout out to the Iphone, for helping me stay in contact with .**

**I'd also like to give a shout out to Kira michi, for being one of the greatest Bleach authors ever. You all should read her story, Life is Full of Surprises. I personally think it's a wonderful story, now if only she could get her computer working so that she could keep writing.**

**But seriously, go read it!**

**Anyway, enjoy the story**

Chapter 11

A Call to Help, A Roar of Rage

Kuroda knew that there was a reason that he hadn't totally agreed with Kisuke's plan, and that reason was lying down just five feet in front of him.

Ichigo was in terrible shape.

Kisuke and Tessai had done a good job in patching him up, but the fact is the kid almost died that night. Ichigo must have been made of something real tough, because he'd somehow gotten out of at least 3 life threatening injuries in the past 2 weeks.

Now Kuroda had to wait for him to wake up, at the moment he was passing the time by figuring out how to break it to Ichigo that Rukia was slated for execution.

"Poor guy," he murmured, "not every day you find out your friend is going to die soon."

It was just then that Ichigo began to stir and start mumbling random things, though they mostly related to Rukia.

"Is he waking up?"

Kuroda turned to see Tessai at the door, a tray of medicine in his hands.

"I think so, he's starting to stir," replied Kuroda,

"Hm, he's quite remarkable to have recovered so quickly," Tessai observed, "well, if he's going to wake up. I must make sure that he's recovered thoroughly."

"How are you goi-" Kuroda stopped himself when he saw the large man crawl into Ichigo's bed and align his face directly above Ichigo's.

"Uh…that might not be such a good idea," he mumbled,

As it turns out, Ichigo chose that moment to wake up, and of course he screamed, very loudly.

"Ohh, instant reaction," observed Tessai, "Very good!"

Ichigo immediately pushed the large man away from his face, screaming, "Too close! Too close! Too close!"

"Boss! You wanted to know when the kid woke up!" shouted Tessai, "well he's awake!"

"Hey, I've seen you before! You're one of Sandal-hat's people!" screamed Ichigo,

Kuroda felt a sweat drop roll down his head as he watched to strange scene unfold before him.

"Why the hell are you in my bed? GET OUT!" demanded Ichigo before finally kicking Tessai off of him and onto the other side of the room.

"Well, you seem to have recovered nicely," said Kuroda,

"Huh? Kuroda?" said Ichigo as he turned to face him,

"Yo, good to see you'll live," replied Kuroda,

"Wh-" Ichigo was cut off as pain suddenly lanced through his shoulder, he reflexively gripped it as he clenched his teeth.

"Don't strain yourself," warned Kuroda,

"Wh-Where am I?" asked Ichigo through a pained voice,

"You're in my shop,"

The two of them looked towards the door to see Kisuke walking in, fan held in front of his face.

"Sandal hat, this is your place?" asked Ichigo,

"Exactly!"

"Then, you're the one who saved me," Ichigo deduced, though he seemed less than thrilled.

"Not what I was expecting," said Kisuke, "it sounds like you didn't want to be saved."

Ichigo chose to remain silent as he remembered the fight that had nearly taken his life.

"Hey," he said, "Uryu was there too, where is he?"

"He went home," said Kuroda as he stood up and walked next to Kisuke, "He lost a lot of blood, but his wounds weren't too serious. Kisuke managed to treat him on the spot. He was pretty worried about you."

"Uryu was worried about me? The blood loss must have affected his thinking," said Ichigo.

"I offered to let him rest in my shop," said Kisuke, "but he said was fine and went on home. He also said that you were the only one that could save Rukia."

Kuroda saw Ichigo wince, the memory of his loss still fresh in his mind.

"I'm supposed to save her?" chuckled Ichigo, "How am I supposed to do that? She's gone back to Soul Society, how am I supposed to save her from their?"

"There's no way to save her?" continued Ichigo, "NO WAY!"

"Ichigo, shut up," Kuroda finally said, this didn't sound like the Ichigo he knew, the one that he knew would never spout this nonsense.

"What?"

"Do you really think there's no way?" Kisuke calmly asked, "absolutely no way to get to Soul Society?"

"Is there?" asked Ichigo with renewed hope, "What do I do? Please tell me! How do I get there?"

"I'll tell you," said Kisuke, "But I have just one condition."

"Condition?"

"Yup," said Kisuke, "Ten days, starting now, you have to train with me and hone your skills in fighting."

"Train? We don't have time for that," shouted Ichigo, "We don't know when Rukia will be killed over there! We've got to get to Soul Society as soon as possible and-"

"You just don't get it do you" interrupted Kisuke, with a swift push of his cane, Ichigo fell to the floor flat on his back.

Kisuke knelt down and calmly said, "With the way you are now, you will most surely die there."

"He's right Ichigo," said Kuroda, hoping his friendship with the Ichigo would calm him down, "can't you feel it? You are no longer a shinigami. You're just a regular human again. You couldn't beat those other shinigami when you had power, do you think you can beat them as a regular human?"

Ichigo could see no way around Kuroda's logic, he was right. It would be suicide to go as he was.

"If you're worried about time, then I have good news for you," said Kisuke as he stood up, "Soul Society customarily takes a one month grace period before execution of death row prisoners. Rukia should be no exception."

"Really?"

"That means we'll have 10 days to train you, 7 days to open the gate to Soul Society," summarized Kisuke, "leaving us with 13 days once we get there to save Rukia. That will be plenty of time."

Ichigo seemed to finally relax, that small spark of hope finally igniting in his heart.

"Can I really get stronger in 10 days?" Ichigo asked Kuroda,

"Knowing you," said Kuroda, "absolutely."

"Leave your doubts behind you Ichigo," said Kisuke, "Can you train with me for 10 days to prepare yourself for the game of life and death?"

"Do you need to ask?"

Kuroda smirked, now that was the Ichigo he knew.

**17 days later**

It was finally the day, Kuroda didn't know who was more anxious, him or Ichigo.

For Ichigo, it was the day that he would finally use all of his training and go to save the woman who'd given him the power to protect his family.

For Kuroda, it was the day that he'd be walking back over the shattered memories of his past. It'd be hard for him not to suddenly start tearing the place to pieces.

He often wondered if his two friends shared similar feelings about their former home.

He decided to push away the thoughts for now and focus on the task at hand.

Currently, he waited in a dimly lit street, waiting for Ichigo.

The kid had improved dramatically in a very short amount of time, not only had he made contact with his zanpaktou, but he'd greatly improved his fighting abilities.

Kuroda for his part had helped Yoruichi train Chad and Orihime. Their unique abilities and friendship with Ichigo would make them invaluable assets in his mission.

It had been a bit hard to help them bring out their powers at will, but eventually they succeeded and using them became as natural as breathing air.

The sudden sounds of footsteps interrupted Kuroda's thoughts; he looked down the street to see Ichigo calmly walking towards him.

When he reached Kuroda, he took a moment to stop.

"You ready?" asked Kuroda,

"Yeah," replied Ichigo,

With that said the two of them headed towards Kisuke's shop.

"You don't have to come along," said Ichigo as they walked,

"That's where you're wrong Ichigo," replied Kuroda, "I have my own reasons for going as well, I won't be there just to help you save Rukia."

"Whatever you say, I just want you to know that I appreciate all the help you've given me."

"Don' mention it."

The two of them finally arrived at Kisuke's store, with Kisuke waiting out front. Much to Ichigo's surprise, Chad was there as well.

"Ichigo, your right on time," Kisuke said happily, "Very good, very good,"

"Chad! What are you doing here?" asked Ichigo,

"Rukia once saved my life," replied the tall man, "I'm going as well."

"Huh? Wait…what?" stuttered Ichigo,

"What, they didn't tell you?" asked a new voice,

Ichigo turned around to see Uryu, dressed in white robes.

"Uryu?"

"I can't let it end with me losing to those shinigami," explained Uryu, "I'm going as well."

"Now we're all here," said yet another voice.

Ichigo turned again to see Orihime, dressed in a pink shirt and white jogging pants.

"Pleased to be working with you," she said with a quick bow,

By now, Ichigo was very confused, "Wai…hold on, wha-wha-what? What is all this?"

"He's pretty slow, isn't he?" said a new voice,

Kuroda was not looking forward to how Ichigo would react to this one.

A midnight black cat stepped into the ring of friends, showing off its sentience as it said, "are you sure we can rely on him Kuroda?"

"Yoruichi!" squealed Orihime,

"Absolutely," said Kuroda, "I'd bet my life on this guy."

"And yet he hasn't noticed the power that has emerged in all of his friends," pointed out the feline,

"He kind of sucks at that," said Kuroda in a low and somewhat embarrassed tone.

"A…A CAT TALKED!" screamed Ichigo,

'Great, now he'll be down before the mission even starts,' thought Kuroda as his friend began to freak out.

"It's not a cat," said Orihime as she picked up the talking feline, "it's Yoruichi!"

'If only they knew how right she was,' he thought to himself.

"I guess it is pretty surprising," admitted Uryu,

"This was their first meeting," Chad pointed out,

"Don't worry," said Kuroda, as he put a hand on the shorter man's shoulder, "you'll get used to it eventually."

"Alright, alright, enough fun and games," said Kisuke as he clapped to get everyone's attention, "let's get inside already, we're not going to save Rukia by standing outside all night."

Kuroda grunted in agreement and eagerly walked into the store.

As Orihime started to walk in, she heard Ichigo call out her name.

"Orihime,"

"Huh?"

"How much have you heard?" asked Ichigo, a stern look plastered on his face, "I mean…it's going to be pretty dangerous."

Orihime smiled and said, "I promised Tatsuki, that I'd follow you and that I'd come home no matter what."

Ichigo's eye visibly widened with surprise.

Having nothing more to say, he followed his friends into the store.

Once they were inside, things started getting…weird.

"Wow!" Orihime stared in awe at Kisuke's underground secret lab, "Such a huge space under the store, it's so cool! Like a secret base!"

"Really?" asked Ichigo, a bit annoyed that she'd been impressed by such a thing.

Tessai on the other hand…

"What a magnificent reaction," cried Tessai as he held the girls hand and held a tissue to his eye as tears comically fell, "I, Tessai, am deeply moved!"

"You actually hang out with these guys?" asked Ichigo, a little disturbed.

"Uh, not really," replied Kuroda, who was equally disturbed.

"Alright, your attention please," shouted Kisuke, "all eyes over here!"

With the snap of his fingers, a large square made of stone suddenly popped out from thin air.

"Show off," mumbled Kuroda,

"This is the gate that leads to Soul Society," explained Kisuke, "It's called the Senkai Gate, now listen good, because I'm only going to say this once. But before I do…"

Kisuke picked up his cane and stabbed it towards Ichigo, effectively knocking him out of his body.

"Damn it!" yelled Ichigo as he stumbled forth, "warn me when you're going to do that!"

"Next," said Kisuke as he ignored the orange haired Shinigami and moved towards Kuroda,

"If you touch me with that," growled Kuroda, "you're going to have a very uncomfortable trip to the hospital."

"Uh…right, sorry," said Kisuke as he slowly put down his cane,

As soon as he was sure Kisuke wouldn't ambush him with his cane, he pushed himself out of his gigai, popping out in his usual attire, cloak and all.

All of their friends watched, fascinated by the simple act.

"Wow look, there's no more Ichigo, in this Ichigo," said Orihime,

"Don't talk like I'm candy in a jar!"

Kuroda quickly dragged off his body before they could make fun of it too.

Wow, Kuroda, you look like some kind of super hero!" said Orihime as she pointed at his cloak.

"It's not a cape, it's a cloak!" he growled, "and since when do super hero's dress like me?"

"Your right, you look more like an emo," mocked Ichigo,

Kuroda let out a low growl.

"Hey listen everyone," shouted Kisuke, "this gate here is made by piling spirit exchangers on top of a normal senkai gate."

"Spirit exchangers?" asked Ichigo,

"That's right, Soul Society is a world of souls. Go there is normally impossible unless you're soul. But since Ichigo and Kuroda are the only ones able to move around as Souls, we need spirit exchangers, to turn you into spirits and send you there."

"Basically what you're saying is, without pulling out our souls, if we go through this gate…"

"You can enter Soul Society in your current state," finished Kisuke,

"Alright, we get it," growled Ichigo impatiently, "let's go already!"

"Hey," said Kuroda as he delivered a swift kick to Ichigo's back, "he's not done yet."

"However," said Kisuke, "the amount of time we can open this gate and stay connected to Soul Society is at most, 4 minutes."

A dreadful silence fell over them as each of the group members took in that bit of information.

"Can we even make it in time?" asked Ichigo

"Normally no," said Kisuke, "if you don't make it over, you'll be trapped in the realm between here and Soul Society."

"Then, what do we do?" asked a worried Orihime,

"Run forward really fast," answered Kuroda, all eyes suddenly turned to him, "and don't look back. You'll be fine as long as you truly believe you can get there, otherwise you'd best stay here for the sake of your own safety."

"I don't care what the danger is," said Ichigo, "I'm going, that's that!"

Kuroda allowed himself a small smirk, "Yoruichi will be our guide."

"Huh? The cat?"

"That right," said Yoruichi, "do you have a problem with that?"

"Uh…"

"Yoruichi knows the Soul Society better than anyone here," explained Kuroda, "and while I have been there myself, a lot might have changed since the last time I was there."

Ichigo gave a nod of understanding,

"You understand, boy, that if you lose, you'll never be able to come back," said Yoruichi.

"All I have to do is win, right?" asked Ichigo,

"Exactly," replied Yoruichi,

"Then what are we standing around here for?" asked Ichigo, "lets get going!"

Kuroda had to agree, he nodded to Kisuke, confirming that they were ready.

The shop owner and Tessai stood at opposite ends of the gate. Together they planted their hands on the ground and released their reiatsu, channeling it into the gate until it finally came to life, giving off a bright blue light.

"Alright everyone, this is the moment we've all been waiting for!" shouted Kisuke, "everyone jump in as soon as it open!"

"Got it!" shouted Kuroda,

"Here it comes!"

In a single bright flash of light, the entire group was gone, leaving the two men alone in the giant underground cave.

Kisuke stood up and experimentally reached out towards the gate. It immediately reacted and let loose a small shock of energy, he recoiled from the small sting, taking comfort in the knowledge that it had worked.

"Good luck," he whispered, "you're going to need it."

!*#($(#&!$()!*&$!()*!&$()!

Inside the Dangai Precipice World

"GO FASTER DAMN IT!" screamed Yoruichi as the group of high school students tried to out run the living wall that was currently trying to crush them, "if you get sucked into that, you're done for!"

Too late, Uryu was caught by the tip of his cape.

"Uryu!" cried Ichigo as he went for his zanpaktou,

"Stop," shouted Kuroda as he grabbed the man's hand, "if you use your zanpaktou, you'll get caught too!"

Thankfully Chad grabbed Uryu's cape and tore it apart, separating the Quincy from the living wall. Then promptly tossed him over his shoulder and continued running.

"Hey, let me down!" demanded Uryu, "I can run by my-"

The Quincy suddenly noticed something new coming out of the wall.

"Hey, guys, something else is coming!"

A large, bright yellow light suddenly appeared in the middle of the wall, then what looked like a giant purple worm like train burst through the wall and headed straight for them.

"It's the cleaner!" shouted Yoruichi, "why did it have to show up now of all times!"

"Don't talk about it, just run! Look!" he shouted, pointing at a light at the end of the tunnel, "go towards the light, that's where the exit is!"

The group doubled their efforts, yet the cleaner gained on them still.

"It's no good," shouted Uryu, "its right behind us!

Orihime suddenly, spun around and touched her fingers to her hair clips.

"Santen Kesshun! I reject" she called, immediately 3 sparks of light left her hair clips and formed into a triangle shaped shield of orange light.

The cleaner slammed into the shield but it held fast, however, it did not keep the cleaner from moving forward and slamming into the rest of them. Luckily, by some large amount of luck, the cleaner actually ended up pushing them out the exit.

In the Rukongai, a bright white light suddenly appeared above the town as three beams shot out from it and crashed into the ground.

When the dust cleared, it revealed the group of travelers, a bit shaken, but relatively unharmed.

"Is everyone okay?" asked Orihime,

They all responded with a collective groan. Kuroda had managed to land on his feet, but that didn't make anyone else's pain any easier. Ichigo in particular had landed in a very, weird position.

"Geez," muttered Uryu, "that was some ride"

"Are you okay Yoruichi?" Kuroda asked,

"Just peachy," muttered Yoruichi as she struggled to stand up.

"I didn't think I'd have to use my spare cape so soon," said Uryu as he pulled a brand new cape from out of his robes.

"Is he a friend of yours?" asked Yoruichi,

"Shut up!" growled Kuroda, "Cloak! Not cape!"

"Whatever," mumbled Yoruichi,

"So, this is Soul Society," asked Ichigo as soon as the dust cleared.

"Sure is," replied Kuroda, gesturing to the thousands of endo period style houses that surrounded them.

The team had landed in large dirt street, looking down it one could see that the houses stretched on for miles upon miles without end.

"This place is known as Rukongai," explained Yoruichi, "the first place a soul shows up when it arrives at Soul Society. It is located outside Seireitei, where the Shinigami live."

And yet, none of them could see a single soul for miles, the place was practically a ghost town.

"Where, is everyone?" Orihime asked nervously,

"Hiding most likely," replied Kuroda,

"Hiding? Why?" she asked again,

"Out of fear, whenever outsiders come to soul society, trouble starts. The people of this district of Rukongai are poor and mostly peace loving. They tend to stay away from trouble like us," he explained,

As Kuroda spoke, Ichigo noticed a part of the town that looked completely different. Instead of being made of wood, the buildings were made of pure white rock and the roads were paved similarly. It gave off a feel of high class or money.

"What's that part," he asked,

"Well that's-" Kuroda began,

"I know!" Ichigo said, cutting him off, "that's the town where all the Shinigami live!"

"Alright!" he shouted before charging off,

"Hey wait!" yelled Yoruichi, "Get back here! If you charge in you'll die!"

Ichigo looked back in confusion just as a barrage of giant stone walls came crashing down as sank into the ground, knocking the poor Shinigami off his feet.

Mountains of dust and rock were thrown up in the air and spread like a cloud over the town.

Kuroda was thankful for his cloak as he brought it up in front of his face to block the incoming storm, allowing him to see silhouette of some giant creature standing in front of the gate.

"It's been a while," bellowed a deep voice, "since someone without an entry pass tried to get through these gates."

The dust finally cleared, revealing what could only be described as a giant guarding the gate into Seireitei.

"My first customer in a long time," bellowed again,

The giant was incredibly muscular and wore a red hat with tassels. He wore the standard Shinigami shihakusho, but left the left side of his chest exposed and wore a series of armored plates on his left arm.

"Welcome brat," he said,

The members of the team stared in awe at the giant gatekeeper.

The giant reached into his shihakusho and pulled out a short handled battle axe, which was appropriately huge as well, and brought down the butt of the handle crashing into the ground in front of Ichigo.

"Feel free to attack at any time," taunted the giant,

"He's…huge!" gaped Uryu, "What is he! A human can't be that big!"

"His name is Gidanbo," explained Yoruichi, "He is one of the chosen warriors of Soul Society. He is the gate keeper of the first gate, otherwise known as Hakutoumon."

"Then that means we have to defeat him in order to get in," realized Uryu

"That's right," said Yoruichi, "but it won't be easy, ever since he was appointed, his gate has never been breached for over 300 years. We should compose a plane to-"

Kuroda suddenly cut of his feline friend by tapping her on the shoulder.

"What is it?"

He calmly pointed towards the gate.

"AH!" she yelled as her fur and tail suddenly shot up in surprise when she saw Chad and Orihime running to Ichigo's aide, "Chad, Orihime! Both of you! Come back!"

They of course, ignored her.

"Kuroda! Get them to stop," she yelled in distress,

"Calm down, they'll be fine," he replied casually,

"Calm down! Did you not hear what I just told everyone!" she screamed angrily,

"…I'm kind of sleepy," was Kuroda's only response,

Yoruichi head drooped in depression.

Gidanbo noticed the two humans running to aid Ichigo, but he didn't like three on one battles. To solve the problem, he raised his ask and used it to strike the ground, then dragged it across the ground, effectively creating a barrier of jagged rock around himself and the orange haired boy.

"You guy's, are not well mannered!" stated the giant, "I bet your peasants!"

"Listen closely," he continued, "there are rules in the city that you must abide by! One: Wash your hands when you eat. Two: Don't eat anything that fell on the floor. Three: When dueling, only one person at a time!"

Chad and Orihime's eyes widened

"My first opponent will be the orange haired kid," decided Gidanbo, "Until it's over, you have to stay where you are!"

The giant then turned to face down Ichigo

"Orihime," whispered Chad, "Once I see an opportunity, I'll create a hole through here. As soon as I do, use Tsubaki to attack."

"Excuse me?" asked Gidanbo, "that's just rude, planning to butt into someone's fight!"

"He has, really good hearing," Orihime said nervously, Chad nodded in agreement,

Kuroda chose this moment to step in. He walked past Chad and Orihime and knocked on the stone wall.

"Oi, Ichigo, you still alive over there?" he shouted,

"Kuroda? Uh, yeah I'm fine!" Ichigo shouted back,

"Do you need help?" asked Kuroda,

"Uh, no! Don't worry, just stay put!" answered Ichigo,

"What?" shouted Orihime, "But Ichigo, that's-"

"Don't worry," Ichigo interrupted, "just wait!"

"No! I refuse!" shouted Uryu as he walked up next to Kuroda, "we need to work as a group! We can't have you playing hero!"

"You're here too Uryu?" asked a genuinely puzzled Ichigo,

"I've been here the whole time!" Uryu shouted indignantly,

Chad walked right up to the stone wall and softly asked, "Can you beat him?"

"Hmmm…probably," replied Ichigo as he rubbed his neck in deep thought,

"This is crazy!" screamed Uryu "probably isn't good enough!"

"Shut up already," muttered Ichigo,

"Kuroda, please say something!" pleaded Uryu,

Kuroda stood and took a long pause before finally saying, "I'm going to go take a nap."

Uryu immediately fell to the ground in despair.

Kuroda calmly walked away from the stone wall and sat down against the nearest building, taking AnShen out of his sash and placing him on the wall next him.

"You must have a lot of confidence in the boy to be this calm," he heard,

Kuroda turned to see Yoruichi staring at him curiously.

"I do," replied Kuroda, "Ichigo may be young and inexperienced, but I've seen his power increase exponentially in an incredibly short amount of time. He's special in some way, not sure how, but I'm certain that he is."

"It's rare that you speak so highly of anyone," said Yoruichi,

"Well, maybe you just aren't around when I do," he suggested, "now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a nap."

Kuroda closed his eyes and almost immediately dozed off.

"Don't worry Uryu," said Ichigo,

"This isn't about whether I'm worried or not it's-"

"Let me tell you something," interrupted Ichigo, "the original plan was for me to take 10 days to regain my powers as a Shinigami. Instead, it took only 5 days.

"Then what were you doing the rest of the time?" asked Uryu,

"I was fighting, one on one with Bucket Hat, 5 days straight, day and night," replied Ichigo,

"So, you learned some new techniques?" asked Uryu, his confidence rising,

"Nope," replied Ichigo, and it immediately dropped back down,

"Then what were you doing?"

"Instead, I acquired immense stamina and strength," answered Ichigo as he unsheathed Zangetsu.

"Are you done talking?" asked Gidanbo impatiently,

"I don't remember ever asking you to wait," taunted Ichigo.

Gidanbo raised an eyebrow, "You are definitely a peasant, you have no manners!"

Ichigo smirked in amusement, which only served to make Gidanbo angrier.

Raising his battle axe, he shouted, "When someone waits for you, you have to say THANK YOU!"

With a powerful roll of his shoulders, he swung his axe down towards Ichigo. The blade collided with its target and sent out a powerful wave of dust.

Gidanbo lifted his axe, sure that his attack had crushed the tiny peasant. But when the dust cleared, Ichigo stood completely unharmed.

"Isn't it also rude to attack when someone isn't ready?" asked Ichigo

Gidanbo's response was to let out a loud and hearty laugh.

"This is great," he roared, "it's been decades since my axe was stopped!"

"Alright !" he said as he stood up to his full height, "today I finally get to fight with my full strength. Out of everyone who came here, only three, including you, have been able to stop my attack. But no one has ever survived my second attack!"

Gidanbo raised his axe once again and Ichigo quickly raised his own blade, the gatekeeper brought his axe down with full strength.

Amazingly, Ichigo held Gidanbo's second attack at bay with but one hand. The two blades trembled ever so slightly as both combatants struggled for control of their battle.

"Good!" bellowed Gidanbo, "you're still up. But it just keeps coming!"

Then raised his axe again

*Mean while*

Yoruichi watched from a distance as the gatekeeper continued to pound away at Ichigo's defense, though from what she was seeing, he wasn't doing a very good job of actually hurting the boy. Perhaps Kuroda's trust was well placed.

Kuroda himself slept peacefully against the house, almost as if the battle just 50 feet away wasn't even happening.

"He's got another axe" she heard Uryu shout,

She turned to see that the gate keeper had indeed pulled out a second axe. Gidanbo brought both axes down with as much strength as he could possibly muster.

"Sorry," whispered Ichigo, "but I'm gonna smash those axes."

And with a single swing of his sword, he did just that. Both axes were completely obliterated, the force of his strike was so strong, the giant was sent flying backwards.

"Amazing," whispered Yoruichi as she walked over and leapt on one of the broken heads of Gidanbo's axes, "well it seems Gidanbo's axes have been slightly modified. I'll go wake up Kuroda, you kids finish up here."

She quietly walked over to him and roughly jabbed him in the side, "Oi, Kuroda, time to wake up"

"Huh?" he sputtered as he awoke, "uh…five more minutes."

"Come on," she said as she prodded him some more, "get up already, your never this lazy."

"What's that noise?" he asked groggily, "is that a siren?"

"No, the gatekeeper is crying," replied Yoruichi,

"Ichigo must have beat him pretty bad," he decided as he started to push himself up.

Yoruichi looked back at the kids then said, "Gidanbo's opening the gate, hurry up."

Then pranced away to join the victorious substitute shinigami.

"So, we can pass too?" asked Uryu,

"Yes," said Gidanbo, "I lost to your leader, I have no right to stop you."

"What?" shouted Uryu, "Ichigo's our leader? I don't remember agreeing to that!"

"What are you so mad about?" muttered Ichigo, "I got us through the gate."

"So your name's Ichigo huh?" asked Gidanbo

"Yeah,"

"Sounds kind of feminine," stated the giant,

"Shut up," growled Ichigo, "Ichi means one and go means guardian! There's nothing feminine about that!"

"Whatever," said Gidanbo, clearly not convinced, "I'm not sure why you want to get in, but you should be careful. There are many strong shinigami in Seireitei."

"I know," smiled Ichigo, "but I don't care, I'll beat them all."

"Well, then, I guess I don't need to worry," decided Gidanbo, "Step aside now, I'm going to open the gate"

Gidanbo dug both of his hands under the gate and immediately began to lift. The strain was apparent as veins began to pop from his face and his legs trembled, threatening to give but still holding on.

Gradually, the gate began to rise higher and higher, soon the bottom was parallel with Gidanbo's face. With one more push he managed to step under the gate and put its full weight on his back.

The four teens gaped in awe at the magnificent display of raw strength.

So awed were they that Ichigo almost didn't notice that Gidanbo had suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong," he asked as he ran to the side of the giant, "why'd you stop?"

The face that Ichigo saw on Gidanbo was one of pure terror. Ichigo followed the giant's gaze inside Seireitei and spotted a lone figure approaching them.

He was a skinny, sly looking man with squinty eyes, silver hair and a fox like face. Then there was his smile, unnerving in itself it seemed like it was plastered there. And finally, his white haori, seemed to give him an aura of authority.

"Who's that" he asked,

"Captain of the 3rd division," stuttered Gidanbo, "Ichimaru Gin!"

!(*&$*(#!&*()

Kuroda had just finished stretching, though fully awake, he had missed the last five minutes events entirely. It was…kind of sad really, I mean this guy was Captain of Black Ops? Seriously? Thirty minutes ago he was incredibly serious, now he's…lazy.

Kuroda sneezed, "Hm, I feel like I was just insulted."

Ah! How'd he do that!

"Well," he said, "I guess I best go join them."

As he lazily combed his hair with his fingers, he started to walk towards the gate. He was just about to take his first step, when he heard three words that might as well have been whispered, but to him, rang loud and clear.

"_Shoot to Kill"_

*#$&%*(#&)

Ichigo saw the flash as Gin called to his zanpaktou, he saw it race towards him. Without a moment's hesitation he raised Zangetsu in defense, hoping to catch the attack on the broad side of his blade.

Then there was a sound, like a dozen leafs being quickly cut by a fine blade.

In the blink of an eye, Kuroda shot past his friend and positioned himself between the orange haired shinigami and Captain of the 3rd division. Rage coursed through his veins as he drew AnShen and thrust him forward with all his might.

The two blades collided tip first, causing them to end in a standstill. Kuroda, had stopped Gin's attack.

"Kuroda!" Yoruichi shouted,

"My, my," said Gin, "there's a face I never spected (expected) to see again,"

"Ichimaru Gin," Kuroda growled, he tried his best to maintain a calm image, but was less then successful, venom practically dripped from his words and his hate was palpable to all those surrounding him.

Behind him, Gidanbo groaned in pain, out of the corner of his eye Kuroda could see that the giant's strength was waning.

This wasn't good, they needed to get in through the gate, but Gin was here. If Kuroda let them through, he'd have to multitask between fighting Gin and protecting the others. He could probably do it, but the risk was far too high. One of them could die before the mission even began. He couldn't let that happen.

Taking his left hand of AnShen's hilt, he stretched it out towards Ichigo and said, "Hado. 1: Sho!"

Ichigo was suddenly blown away by an invisible force, sending him flying back into Gidanbo with enough force to knock both of them far away from the gate.

"Kuroda," shouted Yoruichi, "what are you doing!"

Kuroda didn't respond.

"You sure are strange Kuroda, just like always. Must've been hard to make a decision like that," Gin said in his sly voice.

Both their swords were still stuck in a dangerous tip to tip lock, both blades shaking violently as each combatant struggled for control.

Kuroda made the first move. Quick as lightning, he stepped forward and broke the lock by turning his sword to the side, sliding the edge of his blade across the top of Gin's katana and straight for his face.

AnShen swung out towards the 3rd division Captain, Gin jumped back just in time to avoid taking the full length of the blade to his face.

As he landed, he felt a small trickle of blood drip down his face, Kuroda had managed to cut him ever so lightly across the bridge of his nose.

"Not bad, not bad," complimented Gin, "just what I'd expect from ya."

"Shut up," spat Kuroda, "I remember you all too well. That smile that you always kept on your face, even when you watched me and the others suffer like we did. Is it safe to assume that Aizen and Tosen are still here as well?"

"You'd guess correct," replied Gin, "Lot's changed since you were here."

"I see," growled Kuroda, "I've waited a long time to see you three again. I promised Yoruichi that I wouldn't kill anyone when I returned to Soul Society, but-"

Red reiatsu began build around him, covering him from head to toe like some sort of wild fire. Its flames soon reached absolutely ridiculous heights, Kuroda's eyes seemed to be overflowing with a drive to kill.

"I'm sure, she'll understand," he finished, Gin just smiled.

Kuroda raised AnShen, let loose a savage war cry and charged forth. He swung madly at his opponent, gradually slipping into an intricate pattern of attack. Gin, though hailed as a prodigy, had a hard time keeping up, his lack of experience began to show as he received another shallow cut along his wrist.

Gin parried an incoming blow and stepped under a horizontal slash, he thrust Shinso forward but Kuroda quickly pushed back on his foot and successfully dodged the attack.

The captain took advantage of Kuroda's momentary opening and used shunpo to reappear behind the inflight warrior. Gin unleashed a lethal barrage of thrusts, Kuroda used shunpo to avoid the attack but Gin was persistent.

Kuroda found himself on the defensive as he successfully blocked each thrust.

"Shoot to kill"

Gin's zanpaktou suddenly shot forth, extending its blade like some sort of metallic snake. Kuroda just barely dodged the attack, letting it whiz right past his ear.

Gin smile grew even larger, with a quick flick of his wrist, he swung the elongated blade at Kuroda's neck in an attempt to decapitate his foe.

Kuroda quickly pushed himself back, just in time to let the blade swing above his face at the same time, his foot shot out and caught Gin in the stomach, sending the captain tumbling across the ground.

Kuroda caught himself in time and pressed the attack. Just as Gin was able to push himself up, he was forced to block a savage barrage of powerful strikes that Kuroda rained down on his defense.

The endless stream of attacks forced him to back pedal in order to avoid being overwhelmed or even worse, having his zanpaktou knocked out of his hand.

So busy was he with the threat from the front, he did not realize Kuroda's real plan, Gin's back suddenly hit the wall that surrounded Seireitei, leaving his maneuvering abilities limited.

Kuroda stretched out his hand and spoke, "Hado. 33: Sokatsui!"

Blue lightning lashed out from Kuroda's outstretched hand and raced towards the 3rd division Captain. Gin quickly leapt into the air just in time to dodge the deadly missile, but he had once again played into Kuroda's plan. Now in the air, his options were becoming increasingly limited.

Gin suddenly found Kuroda right behind him, he had just barely enough time to spin around and deflect the first incoming blow.

Kuroda spun himself like a top and unleashed an endless stream of strikes against Gin, while none actually landed a hit, they served throw of his balance.

He followed up with powerful overhead strike that sent Gin crashing into the ground, sending a storm of dust and rock flying in all directions.

Kuroda landed a safe distance from the crater and waited for the dust to settle.

"Shoot to kill!"

Shinso shot out from the cloud of dust, Kuroda dodged the attack, only to find himself needing to dodge another, this time barely scratching his cheek.

Again and again the attacks came at him, the bastard was trying to take him on from a distance!

"Ya know what's the good thing bout Shinso?" asked Gin as he took a temporary break from his assault, "close quarters combat, is optional."

Kuroda scowled as Gin resumed his barrage, he dodged and blocked each incoming attack but he couldn't keep it up for long. The attacks were getting closer, more accurate and some of them had managed to land minor wounds.

Already Gin had managed to land a cut on his right arm and his left rib cage and the attack just kept coming, he had to act quickly.

"Hado. 31: Shakkaho!" a red ball of energy shot from Kuroda's palm towards Gin, it was a hastily fired shot and as such was not very accurate, coming up short and hitting the ground in front of him.

But Kuroda had learned to turn failings into success.

Dust now obscured Gin's vision, if he fired now, he'd be striking out blindly. He either had to wait for the dust to settle or get out it himself.

He chose the latter and shot out from the cloud of dust towards his opponent. Kuroda however had been planning on just that.

Gin had chosen to come out swinging at the first thing he saw, which just happened to be Kuroda. He swung his sword at Kuroda's stomach, for whatever reason, he was unable to defend.

Shinso sliced through the man's gut, then, he was gone.

Just as Gin realized that he'd been tricked the real Kuroda appeared just inches away from Gin, sword in a low position.

Kuroda gave Gin a moment to figure out what had happened, and then swung his sword up. Gin, being the talented Captain he was, managed to push away just in time to avoid death.

But AnShen would not be denied blood, its blade had cleaved through Gin's flesh and cut in between his ribs, badly wounding the man.

Gin was in bad shape and he knew it, along with the gash along his side, he had a series of minor cuts and bruises and had taken the most damage in the fight. The wounds at the moment weren't life threatening, but they'd definitely take their toll.

"Well, I guess I should have expected as much," stated Gin through gasps of air, "ya're just as deadly as ya were all those years ago."

"Flattery won't save you Gin," growled Kuroda as he raised his blade once again, "but as long as you're alive, you may as well serve a purpose."

"And what might that be?" asked Gin,

"I'll show you," answered Kuroda as he stretched out his left hand, "Kyuuketsu Ude."

Red reiatsu began to cloak Kuroda's entire arm, sharpening itself at the tips of his fingers. Flame like wisps danced upon him as he slowly raised his hands towards Gin, who amazingly still held his fox like grin.

Without another word, Kuroda dashed towards his foe, intent on victory. Gin uttered his release command and shot Shinso forth. Kuroda rolled to the side to dodge the attack, then pushed of his foot and shot forth again.

Gin shot Shinso again and again, each time Kuroda managed to roll out of the way, at best Gin was able to keep him at bay.

Gin fired Shinso again, this time the it's blade passed right through Kuroda. Gin just barely managed to roll out of the way of a deadly swipe from Kuroda's reiatsu covered hand.

Gin grin widened, he fired Shinso at the exposed warrior, only for it to pass through again. As he jumped to his feet Gin found himself surrounded by dozens of Kuroda's after images.

"Moving too fast for you?" asked Kuroda with faked pity,

The real Kuroda suddenly jumped out from the dizzying legion of images and attacked with full force.

Gin managed to parry the blow and swing his own blade at Kuroda's stomach. The blade made contact, only to reveal another after image.

Another image jumped out, then another and another, each he cut them down, each time it was only another after image.

"Shoot to kill!"

Shiso shot for once more, but this time before it could retract, Gin swept it in a full 360 spin, cutting through all the after images in a single move. Only to reveal nothing, Kuroda wasn't in the circle.

"Now where did he-"

"Over here!", Gin's eyes shot up to see Kuroda barreling down towards him from the sky.

"Shoot to kill!", Gin fired Shinso, his aim was true and the blade head straight for Kuroda, threatening to impale him from one side to the other.

But Kuroda showed no fear as he continued his descent, his composure stayed with him even as Shinso's point came closer and closer. His eye's narrowed in concentration.

At the last second, just as Gin's sword was about to skewer him, his left hand, armored with reiatsu, shot out and pushed the blade to the side.

It's tip instead caught on the edge of his cloak, taking a small amount of cloth with it. Needless to say, with the sword of balance, Gin's defense was thrown of as his sword arm was forced to move with his sword.

Kuroda crashed into Gin with his full force while jamming his left hand into Gin's stomach. Gin crashed to the ground, the force of the impact actually crushing him into the pavement and creating a spider web of cracks.

Kuroda's hand immediately got to work, Gin began to glow the same red as his hand.

"What are ya doin?" Gin asked weakly,

"Do you know what Kyuuketsu Ude means?" asked Kuroda, "It means the vampire's arm and like a vampire drains blood, I use this arm to drain my enemies of their reiatsu."

For once, Gin frowned in despair.

"You can feel it can't you?" said Kuroda, "your own reiatsu, leaving your body, leaving you powerless. Soon, you'll be completely dry."

"My," Gin managed to say with a smile, "that sounds very…evil."

Kuroda scowled, paused for a moment, then hoisted Gin into the air with one hand. There was still just a little bit of reiatsu left, but Kuroda had gotten what he needed, with a single move he tossed Gin away.

The 3rd division captain amazingly enough, had enough energy to spin himself and land on his feet. But his breath had become labored and he visibly slouched out of lack of energy. But he just kept on smiling.

"Seems, I'm not going ta be able ta win this fight," observed Gin,

"No, you won't," agreed Kuroda who held up his vampire hand to reveal a glowing red ball the size of a man's head, "this is all the reiatsu I took from you."

"Hmm, I thought it'd be bigger," complained Gin, "whatch ya gonna do with it?"

Without responding, Kuroda tightened his grip on the ball of reiatsu and crushed it, causing it to turn into a thousand pieces of glass like material. The glass like shards of reiatsu covered Kuroda from head to toe, a minute later, they seemed to dissolve into his skin.

Almost immediately, his wounds all began to heal, each of them closing up within seconds.

A second later, the reiatsu around his hand dissipated.

With that done, Kuroda turned his attention back to Gin.

"Well," said Gin, raising his zanpaktou "I guess there's no avoiding it."

Kuroda nodded and raised his own blade.

Before either of them could charge, someone shouted, "Captain!"

Two shinigami suddenly shunpo'd in front of Gin, Kuroda recognized them as Lieutenants by their armbands.

The first was a gloomy looking man with long blond hair that managed to cover his face. The other was a confident looking man with spikey purple hair, a gray line drawn across his face and the number 66 imprinted on his cheek.

"Are you alright Captain Ichimaru?" asked the blonde haired man,

"Ah, Kira, I was wondering when ya would show up," said Gin,

"Captain, your badly injured," said Kira, "we've got to get you to the 4th division."

"Lieutenant! Lieutenant!" shouted someone else, another two dozen shinigami suddenly flooded into the courtyard, swords drawn and ready to defend their officers.

"Damn," muttered Kuroda, he'd been moments away from killing Gin and now all of them showed up. This was too good a chance to pass up.

"You, Ryoka!" shouted the purple haired man, snapping Kuroda out of his thoughts, "I suggest you surrender now or we will have to make you submit by force."

"Me? Surrender?" asked Kuroda, pointing a finger to himself, "How far have the Shinigami of Soul Society fallen? A hundred years ago Ryoka would have been killed without another thought."

"What are you talking about?" asked the purple haired lieutenant, "we aren't butchers, we show honor by staying our swords."

Kuroda paused for a moment, before saying, "since you two are Lieutenants, I can only assume that you've managed to achieve Shikai with your zanpaktou. That's good, I'll use you two as examples of how strong the rest of Soul Society is."

"Examples?" wondered Kira,

"You see, I have this problem, I'm not allowed to kill you due to my promise to Yoruichi," said Kuroda, "but my zanpaktou has been getting pretty mad at me for not using him for such a long time."

"What's he talking about?" asked someone,

"Does he really think he can take us all on?" suggested another person,

"So you see I'm in a hard position here. If I release my zanpaktou, I might accidently kill you," said Kuroda as he held up AnShen, "but if I don't release him, he might get even angrier at me."

"That's a zanpaktou?" asked Hisagi, "how'd he get one? Did he steal it?"

Kuroda turned his eyes back to the gathered crowd.

"But if you're Lieutenant level Shinigami, you may very well survive my attacks," explained Kuroda,

"Such arrogance," muttered Kira,

"Kira," Gin whispered weakly, "run,"

"Captain? I don't understand,"

"Run Kira," Gin whispered again,

"You two take note," called Kuroda, he guessed that there was at least twenty feet between him and the two Lieutenants, so it was a good range to use _that_, "I'm going to show you the power of those that held the positions you so treasure 100 years ago."

A sudden surge of red reiatsu began to seep from Kuroda, some of the gathered shinigami actually fell to their knees. Kira and Hisagi were also having some trouble though they managed to stay on their feet. For them it was like breathing through a tube, everything felt heavier, both of them realized, this man was clearly at the level of a captain.

Holding out his zanpaktou in front of him, Kuroda uttered the command,

"_**Unleash chaos, AnShen"**_

**A/N**

**Wow, that was a long chapter, according to my word count, around 8,300 words or so.**

**Let me just say, I know that he whole, "17 days later" thing was a cheap trick but can you blame me?**

**I just really wanted to get to the Soul Society Arc, I felt empty go so long without writing any large action sequences.**

**There might be a little less OcXYoruichi for the next few chapters if only because they are in enemy territory trying to save Rukia. Doesn't leave a lot of room for romance.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**Here's an Omake**

**Back at Kuroda's porch,**

"**Are you kidding me!" screamed AnShen, "DB84 finally decides to unleash your Shikai, and he cuts off the chapter!"**

"**Will you calm down," said Kuroda as he sipped his smoothie, "at least I got to say the release command, that means the next chapter will actually have my Shikai."**

"**But it's not fair! He finally gets back from Canada and I still don't get to show off!" whined AnShen,**

"**My he doesn't like you," suggested Kuroda,**

**AnShen fell to the floor, then immediately got back up, "Ha! Yeah right! How could anyone hate this face?"**

**Kuroda felt a sweat drop roll down his forehead, "we can't see your face you idiot."**

**Please review and subscribe**

**Tell your friends, tell your friends friends, tell your friends uncle's father…which would be your grandfather…you know what I mean.**


	12. Chapter 12

**HAHA! I've been waiting for this moment, the moment I get to reveal AnShen's release form! MWAHAHAHA! Okay, I'm a little too excited. Now I don't want any flames about not being creative, you may understand as you read. Let me assure you that this idea is original.**

**I'd like to thank everyone for staying with my story so far. Okay, on with the story**

**Enjoy (Feel free to play epic music as you read)**

Chapter 12

Sending a Message

"**Unleash Chaos, AnShen"**

The moment he finished uttering the command, AnShen began to glow a bright red, a hurricane of power built itself around the sword and its wielder.

The gathered Shinigami had to avert their gaze for fear of being blinded by the light.

"What crazy power," Kira managed to shout over the wind,

"This reiatsu," Hisagi said, "it's so dense and it feels so…dark."

Even Captain Ichimaru had to frown.

Gradually, the light died down and the winds settled; the Shinigami raised their eyes to gaze upon their foe's new power.

Kuroda stood with confidence, AnShen's true form had been taken.

He now held a new sword, its blade was only one sided and colored a dark red. Its blade was much wider than that of its original katana form, it had also grown much longer, spanning at least 4ft.

The hilt was now adorned with a flat skull as it's cross guard, the skull was missing its lower jaw, but more than made up for it by using's its long sharp teeth as a protective guard. And though its grip was obviously made to wielded with two hands, Kuroda easily hefted it with one.

"It feels good to hold you again," he whispered to his zanpaktou, he turned his gaze back to the shinigami, many of whom were visibly afraid.

"Stand your ground," ordered Hisagi,

"His zanpaktou is obviously suited to melee combat," observed Kira, "which makes him a perfect match for me. "

"Raise your head: Wabisuke!"

With a flick of his wrist, his katana suddenly transformed. The blade loss its traditional curve and straightened itself, also gaining two 90 degree angles at the end of the blade, creating something reminiscent of a squared hook.

"Hisagi, I'll disarm him, than you go in for the finisher," said Kira,

"Agreed," replied Hisagi as he gripped his own katana,

Across the courtyard, Kuroda looked on calmly as his opponents began to form their battle plan.

"Oi," he shouted, catching their attention, "I apologize if this defeats any plan you've just come up with, but my zanpaktou really wants to let loose."

The two lieutenants looked on in confusion, unable to understand what the man was trying to get at.

Slowly, Kuroda lifted AnShen and held him up as though he were about to swing the blade in a deadly horizontal arc.

"I also apologize, if this kills any of you,"

The Shinigami took their stance, expecting the Ryoka to charge them head on.

"**Shino Kabe**,"

Kuroda swung his blade in a wide arc, what happened next is hard to describe with words.

The swing generated a massive wave of red reiatsu, easily reaching the same heights as the wall that surrounded Seireitei. The wave of reiatsu tumbled towards the group of Shinigami, its height actually casting a shadow over them as it approached with incredible speed.

"RUN!" screamed the Lieutenants,

The shinigami tripped over themselves and each other as the desperately tried to escape the incoming wave of death.

Faces of agony and death decorated the wave, as though displaying what was to come for any poor soul that were caught in this horrible attack.

Despite their best attempts, the wall easily overtook them in matter of seconds.

"Shit!" spat Kira as he turned to see the wave descending upon them.

"We can't out run it," shouted Hisagi,

Both Lieutenants suddenly felt someone grab them by the collar and whisk them back, before they knew it, they found themselves sitting in a massive pile of rubble.

Both were dumbfounded to see the wave they had just been running away from, in front of them and moving farther and farther away as well as every single one of the other shinigami safetly beside them.

Both heard heavy breathing and looked down to see Captain Ichimaru panting heavily on the ground.

"Captain Ichimaru!" Kira called out in concern as he dropped to his knees to try to assist the exhausted Captain,

"Don'tcha ya worry Kira," panted Ichimaru, "I'll be fine."

"Kira," whispered Hisagi, his tone unnerving

"What is it?" asked the Lieutenant as he stood up,

Hisagi didn't respond, he simply stared into the distance, eye's wide with horror, mouth gaping in awe.

Kira soon understood why.

The ryoka's attack had utterly destroyed everything in its path, the fine pavement that had once been there was now reduced to rubble and any buildings it had come in contact with had been simply destroyed.

"What terrible power," he managed to whisper,

"We, need to run," Captain Ichimaru managed to say, "we're gonna need help."

"Agreed," replied Hisagi, "you need medical attention and I doubt we can do much against an opponent like that."

Kira grunted in agreement as he slung Captain Ichimaru's arm around his neck.

"Let's go, before he finds out we lived!" ordered Hisagi, "everyone retreat!"

"Too late for that," said a voice,

The two lieutenants whipped around to see the Ryoka standing just three meters from them; sword slung on his shoulder as his stared them down.

Kira and Hisagi raised their swords in defense.

"Stand aside you two, I'm only after him," said the Ryoka,

"Sorry, but that's not going to happen," answered Hisagi,

"I see,"

Without warning Kuroda suddenly sprung forth, easily clearing the distance between him and the two Lieutenants.

"Then I'll just have to push you aside," he decided,

With a twist of his body he spun himself and kicked out his foot, his heel connecting with Kira's face. The blow sent the blond haired man tumbling across the torn down landscape.

Hisagi, being too slow to block, was caught by an uppercut to the chin which sent him into the air and crashing down into a pile of rubble.

Having pushed away the two lieutenants, Kuroda turned to finish off the injured Captain. He immediately charged forth, AnShen raised over his head to deal the final blow.

"Bankai," commanded Gin,

The captain thrust out his zanpaktou and a bright beam of light lashed out towards the ryoka, Kuroda swung AnShen down and collided with the deadly beam.

The two attacks met in a dead lock, Kuroda ground his heels into the ground but to no avail. The captain's bankai was gradually pushing him back and if he so much as twitched his sword in any direction it would skewer him.

Gin gave one last push through his sword and sent the ryoka skidding across the ground all the way back to the gates.

As soon as Kuroda hit the wall, Gin retracted his blade and shunpo'd to his Lieutenant's side and picked him up then did the same for Hisagi before shunpoing deeper in Seireitei.

"Damn," growled Kuroda as he smashed his fist against the wall, "I nearly had him."

Hatred and anger crawled through his veins as he silently yelled at himself for having let Gin get away like that.

Taking a deep breath the anger gradually receded and his mind was clear once again.

"I should get moving," he mumbled to himself, "I've attracted too much attention as it is. I need to get somewhere safe and figure out some sort of plan."

With a path laid before him, Kuroda shunpo'd away.

**!(*&(*#$&!#()*^!)*(&!#$)**

From the Captain Commander's room

"Captain Yamamoto, did you see that?" asked Lieutenant Sasakibe,

"Yes," he answered, "I did."

Meanwhile

Lieutenant Kira sat patiently in the waiting room as he waited for any news on his Captain's recovery. He kept expecting to hear bad news, he knew that the members of the 4th squad were excellent healers, but Kira had never seen his Captain so banged up. In fact, Kira had never seen his Captain ever injured at all.

Who was that Ryoka? How could he possess such terrible powers? What did he mean those who held their positions 100 years ago?

"Kira," said a sweet voice,

Kira looked up to see Lieutenant Isane; her face dripped with sweat but seemed heartwarming all the same.

"I have good news," she said,

"About Captain Ichimaru?"

"Yes, he's going to be fine," she assured,

Kira let loose a sigh of relief,

"But, he'll have to stay for the night," she put in, "he needs rest before he goes off on his own."

"I understand," said Kira, "I'm just glad that Captain Ichimaru will be alright."

Isane nodded in agreement, offering a warm smile, but frowned when she asked, "Kira, who did this?"

"A Ryoka," he replied solemnly, "I'm not quite sure who he was, but he was…something else."

"A Ryoka did this?" she asked in shock, "I can't believe it."

"Believe it," assured Kira, "he was like nothing I've ever seen; I've never witnessed such terrible power. He's not a man, he's a monster."

**(!#*$&(*!^)(%*!#&%)!(*&!)**()

Captain Shunsui Kyoraku of the 8th division lazily trod through the streets of Seireitei towards the 1st division barracks. Apparently some Ryoka had broken into Seireitei and now the old man was calling all the Captains together for a meeting.

This Ryoka had supposedly caused a lot of damage, if that was the truth, Shunsui didn't know anything about it, and he'd been sleeping most of the day. Heck he probably wouldn't have known about the meeting if Nanao hadn't woken him up.

The captain sighed heavily, he was getting too old for this, why couldn't they just let him relax for once.

"Shunsui!" he heard a voice call,

Shunsui turned to see his best friend, Jushiro Ukitake.

Jushiro was a pale man with white hair that went passed his shoulders. He was also the captain of the 13th division and despite his somewhat disarming charms; he was a powerful force on the battlefield. He might be even stronger if it weren't for his illness.

"Morning Jushiro," Shunsui called back, "how have you been?"

"I've been great Shunsui," smiled Jushiro, "the coughing's died down quite a bit, so I figured I was fit enough to go to the Captain's meeting, though Kiyone and Sentaro both urged me not to."

"Yeah they do that," smiled Shunsui, "I almost didn't go myself, lovely Nanao had to shove me out of my bed. She's so cute when she's angry."

The two of them soon came to the door of the 1st division barracks.

"Oi! This is Kyoraku Shunsui of the 8th division and Ukitake Jushiro of the 13th division, open up!" he called,

After a brief silence, the door creaked open, letting the two senior captains through.

In the Captain's Assembly hall, each captain, save Gin had arrived just on time.

2nd Squad Captain Soi Fon

4th Squad Captain Retsu Unohana

5th Squad Captain Sosuke Aizen

6th Squad Captain Byakuya Kuchiki

7th Squad Captain Sajin Komamura

8th Squad Captain Shunsui Kyoraku

9th Squad Captain Kaname Tosen

10th Squad Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya

11th Squad Captain Kenpachi Zaraki

12th Squad Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi

13th Squad Captain Jushiro Ukitake

"Old man Yamamoto isn't here yet," observed Shunsui, "we must be early."

"Does anyone know what this meeting is about?" complained Mayuri, "I was attending to important experiments when I was called. If I'm gone too long my work will be wasted."

"I believe this has something to do with the Ryoka that infiltrated Seireitei," answered Captain Ukitake, "apparently he caused quite some damage."

"Oi, where's Ichimaru?" asked Kenpachi, "he's supposed to be here too."

"I will answer that," said a deep voice,

In came the Captain of the 1st division, Genryusai Yamamoto, the oldest and most powerful of them all. His hunched back and long white beard gave him the out word appearance of an old man but those who met him on the battlefield knew better than that.

Yamamoto had not stayed the Captain Commander for nearly 2000 years, simply because he was advanced in age. No, he was quite possibly the most powerful Shinigami in the history of the organization. Some wondered as to why he had not been asked to join the royal guard yet.

The old man took his place at the head of the assembly hall.

"Captains of the Gotei 13, we gather today to discuss a matter of upmost importance!" his voice boomed, "Seireitei has been invaded! Earlier today, on his own initiative, Captain of the 3rd Squad, Gin Ichimaru fought a Ryoka of great power."

"Gin released his zanpaktou, while this is usually an action that breaks the rules placed upon all captains, his actions shall be overlooked."

There was a murmur among the Captains; many were understandably confused as to why such a crime was overlooked.

"It shall be overlooked; because not only was Ichimaru Gin unsuccessful in killing or even pacifying the Ryoka, but he himself was defeated and grievously injured!"

"Did I hear right?" interrupted Kenpachi, "this Ryoka beat a captain?"

"Indeed," confirmed Yamamoto, "we believe this Ryoka initially traveled in a group of unknown numbers but was somehow separated due to Gin's intervention. It is for that reason that instead of condemning him, we should thank him. If a Ryoka had the ability to defeat a captain of Gin's level, it is better that we are dealing with just one, then the entire group."

"Do we know the identity of the Ryoka?' asked Aizen, "if he carries the kind of power to defeat a captain, there must surely be some sort of record or hint to show who he is. We can't possibly have overlooked him."

"As of now, we only know one thing," said Yamamoto, his voice heavy, "he was once a shinigami."

Silence hung in the air as the captains tried to take in what they'd just been told.

"Lieutenants Shuhei Hisagi and Izuru Kira have confirmed that the Ryoka wielded a zanpaktou," continued Yamamoto, "given these recent developments, we ceasing all of Seireitei's normal operations and diverting all forces in pursuit of the Ryoka! Seireitei is now in a state of emergency, let us show the Ryoka that we will not be trifled with!"

**Afterwards**

"Jeez, that was some meeting huh?" said Shunsui lazily,

"Yeah, something like this hasn't happened for a real long time," said Jushiro, "did you see the damage that Ryoka did; it'll take months to repair that part of Seireitei."

"Ya know, that reiatsu the Ryoka gives off," started Shunsui, "it feels kind of…familiar."

"I thought you were napping when the Ryoka attacked," Jushiro pointed out,

"Did I? Must have been talking about another time," Shunsui said slyly.

"Well, do you think you know who it is?"

"Hmmm, I'm not entirely sure," said Shunsui as he folded his arms, "but, it's definitely from someone you and I know. It's getting late, I'm going home."

"Alright, I'm *cough*cough*cough*-"

"Hey," said Shunsui as he rushed to his friend's side, "are you alright?"

"I'm fine," said Jushiro reassuringly, "I guess this is just *cough*cough*cough*"

Shunsui sighed before helping his friend up "Let's get you to Unohana,"

**!(*&%(*#&!)(!)!)(!*$&!)()**

Yoruichi sat down at the porch of the house they were staying at, her tail waving around thoughtfully as she looked towards the wall of Seireitei that separated their group.

"You stupid pig," she muttered, "why'd you have to do it? Why couldn't you have stayed with us?"

She felt angry at her friend for rushing off like that into the middle of battle and then just pushing them out of the way. He always did this, he always went off on his own, it was only when Kisuke and her forced him to work together that he would concede.

She let loose a heavy sigh, because she knew at the same time, she wasn't angry at all. Instead, she was worried. Kuroda may be one of the most powerful warriors she'd ever seen but he'd always been very…unstable. Always a bit…off. People always whispered that he was insane or psychopathic, that the people of his Division were all recruited from insane asylums, or that he himself had been a criminal.

She remembered that sometime she'd confront him with these words. He'd always brush it off and say;

"If that's what they're saying then I'm doing my job well, let the fear run through the grape vine, it only serves my purpose."

She sighed again, "You never did know how to really have fun."

"Who didn't?"

Yoruichi turned to see Ichigo standing behind her, his arms crossed and his face still serious. In a way, he reminded her of Kuroda, except a little more upbeat and not quite as intelligent.

"Hello Ichigo," she replied, "I was just thinking of Kuroda."

"Judging by the way you two interact," he said sitting down next to her, "I'd say that you two have known each other for a long time."

"You're not as naïve as you act," chuckled Yoruichi,

"Thanks I- Hey wait!"

"But your right," she continued, "he and I have known each other for longer than I can remember, this may surprise you but when he was younger, he couldn't stop smiling."

"Kuroda, smiling?" asked Ichigo, "man, that'd be kind of weird."

**()#&%(!#*)!&(*#$&!_)($!*_$*_!#*($_)**

Kuroda hid in an alley as a patrol of Shinigami ran passed him. One Shinigami, a red haired lieutenant stayed behind to search more thoroughly but Kuroda easily avoided him as well.

Using Shunpo he skipped from roof to roof until he found a relatively quiet sector and hid himself in a storehouse.

It was clear to him now that the higher ups had declared a state of emergency as the streets were practically swarming with Shinigami.

None of them were strong enough to be an actual threat but Kuroda didn't want to draw any unneeded attention.

At the moment his plan was to wait until Ichigo and the others arrived, no doubt Yoruichi would find some way of getting them in.

"I can't believe they're sending foot soldiers to try to take me down, doesn't seem very smart," he whispered as another search party ran past his hiding place, "perhaps age has finally caught up with the old man."

"Hey, someone get over here and help me check the storehouse," shouted someone,

"Damn," he muttered before sneaking out the window,

The constant game of cat and mouse went on late into the night until most search parties had been pulled out, the squads finally calling it a day.

"I can't believe one man caused all this commotion," said a shinigami,

"Yeah, makes you wonder what he did."

"I hear he took down a captain,"

"Really? Well, then I'm glad I didn't find him, he'd have probably splattered me all over the streets."

Kuroda quite listened as their voices gradually faded away. He let out a sigh and slumped to the ground, grateful that they'd pulled out the search teams. If things remained the way he remembered them, then the only people out now would be the usual night patrols.

"That was probably the most boring hours of my life," he mumbled as he massaged his temples, "Yoruichi better hurry up and get those kids in, or I'll just finish the mission myself."

A low gurgling sound suddenly interrupted him,

"Or I might die of hunger," he chuckled, "I'll just steal some food, I'm the enemy after all"

With his stomach pressing him on he jumped up on to the roofs and began moving towards the 4th division barracks, they were in charge of most of the provisions of Seireitei, so it was only natural that he'd have the most luck with them.

With his speed, he quickly arrived at the 4th division's barracks.

Save a few lights, it seemed that most of the squad members had gone to sleep, which was perfect for someone trying to sneak in.

Quite as he could be, he jumped down from the roof tops and landed softly on the ground. He carefully crept toward the barracks, using the shadows to mask his presence from any possible guards.

He quietly slid the front door open, stepped in and quickly closed it. He silently sped through the halls, easily avoiding anyone who wandered the halls at the time.

One squad member was particularly amusing.

Kuroda had been walking down the hallway when he heard footsteps further down.

"Uh, let me think; where's the water boiling room again?" asked a rather timid voice,

Kuroda immediately slipped into the nearest room he could find. He listened attentively as the shinigami walked down the hallway he'd just been in.

"Oh! Here it is!" he heard,

'Aw, crap,' he thought to himself,

Thinking quickly, he dove behind a pile of boxes, just as the shinigami came through.

He was a short person, with purple hair and a bit of a hunch. He was also wearing very strange pajamas, from where he was standing; it looked kind of like…teddy bears?

The short shinigami proceeded to clumsily begin boiling water for some tea, during the process he dropped the pot twice and put the tea leaves in before the water. Needless to say, he made a lot of noise.

"I should get out of here before he wakes up the whole squad," he murmured before slipping out.

Eventually, he managed to make his way to the pantry.

There he managed to find a sizeable bag to suit his needs and began scooping in whatever he'd need. Knowing that when the others showed up that they'd need provisions too, he also packed an extra bag.

Just as he'd finished packing the last bag, the door suddenly slid open.

"Where are the tea leaves?" asked the voice,

Kuroda turned to see the same shinigami he'd left in the boiling room, clumsily stumble into the pantry.

Though as clumsy as he was, he did manage to spot Kuroda. But from where he stood, Kuroda was completely covered in shadows, which gave him a rather ghastly appearance.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed, "evil spirit! An evil spirit is haunting the pantry"

The small shinigami then proceeded to run out the pantry at top speed and scream "evil spirit in the pantry" at the top of his lungs.

"Um, I better get out of here," decided Kuroda before shouldering the bags and jumping out the window.

Moments later

"Evil spirit," the shinigami pointed nervously inside the pantry,

"Let's go see this evil spirit," said a woman with a long braided ponytail that hung in front of her instead of the customary behind.

She walked in without a hint of fear and flicked on the lights.

"Is it there?" asked the short shinigami,

"There isn't anyone in here Hanataro," said Captain Unohana

"Eh?"

Hanataro quickly ran into the pantry only to discover that there was indeed no one in the pantry.

"B-but, I saw it!" he proclaimed,

"You must be tired, perhaps you were seeing things," Captain Unohana sweetly suggested, "why don't you go back to bed."

"Uh…sure," said Hanataro before walking out, his face full of confusion.

As soon as he left, Unohana's sweet demeanor quickly changed to one of seriousness. For someone had indeed been in here when Hanataro had come for his tea leaves. A good portion of the food that was stored in here was missing as were two of the bags used for storing grain.

Eventually she decided to report this in the morning and give the thief a head start, she owed him that much.

(!)!()(*!%#_()!#*_)!(*!_)(!*)_!#(*!_()$*!*$%&($*&)

**The Next Day**

It was known to few and told to even fewer, but Kuroda hated dreams and in turn he hated sleeping. If he had one wish, it would have been that he'd never have to sleep again.

His reasoning was rather rational, dreams couldn't be controlled, in the real world he could influence anything, in his dreams; he had no power over what happened.

Last night was such a night where he was reminded of his hate.

_Dream_

_Kuroda stood in pitch darkness; everywhere he looked there was nothing but an empty void. He lifted up his hand and waved it in front of his face, but had it not been attached to him, he wouldn't even know it was there._

_Suddenly a dim light overhead appeared, leaving him in the single spot of light in the entire world._

"_Let me out" called out someone, their voice teeming with blood lust and having just a tinge of madness to it._

"_Let me out," it called out again, this time louder,_

"_LET ME OUT!" it screamed,_

_Kuroda, knew exactly who it was, as such, he chose not to respond._

"_I know you can hear me! Let me out!" it screamed, "You need me! Without me, you're nothing! You will never win!"_

"_I'll never let you out," Kuroda finally said, "why do you think I got these?"_

_His hand rubbing against the bands under his sleeve, "you'll stay in there for as long as I want you to."_

"_You just can't handle it, you weak excuse for a warrior! Or maybe, you're just afraid, of the truth."_

"_What truth?"_

"_That you'll never be able to get rid of me, that in the end, you and I will always be together."_

"_Back off," said a new voice, "you have no right to tell him that,"_

"_Stop interfering," shouted the first voice,_

"_Leave him alone," said a third voice,_

"_All of you get out, it's my turn," shouted the first, after a brief silence, the voice said, "Like I was saying. That's the truth, you can't escape it."_

"_I don't need to escape it," replied Kuroda, "I just need to keep it hidden until the day I die."_

"_And just how successful were you at that?" asked the maniacal voice,_

_No response_

"_Let me out already, I kill them all, I tear of their heads and place them on stakes as trophies!" assured the voice,_

_For a brief moment, Kuroda was tempted to do just that. He unconsciously rubbed his arm bands again, as he usually did while in deep thought._

"_Let me out," the voice said again,_

"_No,"_

"_WHY NOT!" screamed the voice,_

_At first, Kuroda didn't respond, but finally he said, "Because of my friend."_

"_LET ME OUT" screamed the voice, "LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!"_

_Two hands shot out from the darkness and grasped him by the shoulders,_

"_YOU WILL LET ME OUT!" it shouted before dragging into the darkness._

Kuroda woke with a start, his chest heaving up and down as he gasped for air. He immediately pushed himself up and exited the warehouse he'd taken up shelter in. Sun rise was just starting, it was time to move.

God knew he needed occupy his mind.

#(*&)#(*&!#)$(*!&)#(*&!)(#*&$!()*$&(#*&$!)(())

Rukia sat in her chair, alone in her cold and dark prison cell.

Behind her, the prison doors opened with a noisy clank. The door let through a stream of light that immediately lit up the entire cell, three sets of footsteps moved in towards her.

"What is it, Renji?"

With little enthusiasm, she turned her head to see the red haired lieutenant backed by two others she didn't recognize.

"Has the date of my sentence been moved up?" she asked solemnly,

"There are not 14 days left before your execution," answered Renji without a hint of emotion, "use of the Soukyoku has been approved."

"I see," she whispered,

"We're transferring you to the Shrine of Penitence, cell four-deep," explained Renji

Rukia didn't respond, she just nodded her head and stood up to be escorted.

(!)*(#&*%#&)(!*&$!)()

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" asked Ichigo, "We've been walking for a pretty long time."

"Shut up," ordered Uryu, "according to the map the elders gave us, we're going the right way. If you've got any complaints why don't you take the lead?"

"Alright, jeez, no need to get so snippy," muttered Ichigo,

"Shiba Kuukaku must live out here because he wants to keep his identity a secret," Orihime suggested thoughtfully,

"A good guess, but no," replied Yoruichi, "it's just in the fool's nature to live out in places like this"

"Don't worry," she said as they continued onward, "That rolling stone may change addresses like a person changes clothes, but the house at least always looks the same. If I see it, I'll recognize it instantly."

"Instantly huh," whispered Ichigo,

"Yes, instantly," replied Yoruichi to a very surprised Ichigo,

"How'd he…"

"Yoruichi is a cat remember," reminded Chad,

"Oh, look, there it is," Yoruichi announced, "that's it right over there, I told you it was easy to recognize."

Both Uryu and Ichigo's jaws suddenly dropped and their eye's widened comically as they gaped at the house of Shiba Kuukaku.

"Wow, so cool," said Orihime,

Chad, somehow, remained stoic and calm they he seemed a bit disturbed.

Out in the middle of a clear plane, was Shiba Kuukaku's house, with two large stone arms holding up a banner, with Shiba Kuukaku written on it…nice.

!*(#&)(#*&%!()#*&!()*$&!()*#&$!()*&#$!()*#&)&)*&)

Kuroda let loose a loud and long yawn as he stood atop the pile of unconscious Shinigami he'd just knocked out.

The majority of them had been from the 12th squad, mixed in with a few 13th squanders. One of them even had a seat but Kuroda hadn't broken a sweat in defeating them, heck he barely moved from one spot.

He didn't relish in violence, but if he was going to fight without the intent to kill it might as well be exciting, needless to say, this fight was not exciting, it was sad.

"Jeez, I didn't even have to draw AnShen," he mumbled, "they don't seem to be taking me seriously."

"Over here, the fighting is over here!" he heard someone shout,

Kuroda turned to see a platoon from the 4th squad run towards him, guarded by two other shinigami from another squad.

The group stopped immediately when they saw the piles of unconscious shinigami and the Ryoka that sat upon them.

"No way," one of them whispered,

"He took them all out? By himself?"

"Bastard!" screamed one of the guards, who drew his zanpaktou and charged towards Kuroda, his partner following right behind him.

Kuroda jumped off the pile of Shinigami to meet the two brave souls. He didn't even bother to move as they swung their swords at him.

Against any normal Ryoka their swords would have done some damage, but Kuroda was far from normal. He simply raised his hand to catch the first blade and let the other bounce harmlessly off his chest.

The two shinigami's eyes widened with surprise the Ryoka shook of their attacks as though they'd never happened.

"Later," said Kuroda before knocking them both unconscious with two well-placed punches.

"I suggest you 4th squanders get to work," he called as he turned to leave, "you're going to be pretty busy in the next couple of days."

As he walked, Kuroda began to talk to himself about the current situation.

"I wonder if they aren't taking me seriously," he mumbled to himself as a shinigami charged him, whom he promptly kicked in the face.

"All they're doing is sending weaklings to come after me," he continued as he dodged an attack from a female shinigami then knocked her out.

"I've met a few seated members," he remembered as he nonchalantly tossed another over his shoulder, "but I have yet to even meet another lieutenant."

"I beat a captain," said Kuroda as he pushed through more shinigami, though he wasn't even really paying attention, "maybe I need to beat another one?"

"I could go after Tosen," he suggested to himself,

"DIE"

SMACK! Thump!

"Is he a captain yet?" he asked a loud, "maybe I should ask someone."

"Attack!" screamed someone, SMACK! Thud.

"Oi," he yelled as he grabbed a fallen female shinigami by the collar of her shihakusho and lifted her to eye level, "is Tosen a captain yet?"

"Uh…uh…uh," she stuttered,

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said calmly, "just tell me if there is a captain named Tosen in the Gotei 13."

"Uh…y-yes!" she answered nervously, "Captain Kaname Tosen of Squad 9,"

"I see," he said before dropping her, "go on, get out."

The girl quickly complied, not taking any time to ponder why she'd been spared.

"And thus the traitors are the most prosperous," he whispered to himself, "well, better stop talking to myself and start looking around for those guys. That's the only reason I came here after all, oh and to save Rukia, that's important too."

**Meanwhile**

"Yachiru! Are you sure that you can feel that ryoka's reiatsu!" shouted a large and spikey haired man,

On top of his shoulder sat a small pink haired girl with an incredibly innocent looking face.

"Of course Kenny, you need to trust me more," she replied,

"So if I keep running in this direction then I'll definitely find him right!"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure you will!" she proclaimed happily,

"Pretty sure! You're pretty sure!" questioned Kenpachi,

"Well if you don't want my help then you can find him yourself," she pouted,

"Ugh, you said it was this way right?"

**Back with Kuroda**

"Hmm, that's a pretty large amount of reiatsu," he commented as he looked out behind him, "must be captain, a very powerful captain. I can only imagine he's hunting for me. But…why is he moving the opposite direction?

Allow me to intervene for a brief moment and show you this map!

Here is Kuroda, on the west side of Seireitei moving towards the center, where as Kenpachi and Yachiru are on the east side moving towards the edge.

"Well, it's not my problem," mumbled Kuroda as he continued on his walk, "let's see if I just keep going this way then I should eventually hit-"

Kuroda stopped midsentence, his eyes narrowed, hand reaching for AnShen's hilt, and his feet shifted into a fighting stance.

Standing just twenty feet in front of him was a captain.

Kuroda could feel his skin tingle in anticipation.

The Captain was incredibly tall and large, his arms were large then most people's legs. Kuroda couldn't see his face because the shinigami covered it with a large basket like helmet that left only a small slit for the shinigami to see through.

But what Kuroda found bizarre was the fact that he hadn't sensed the Captain's reiatsu until he'd gotten this close. His senses were either dulling or this Captain was simply very good at concealing himself, given Kuroda's record; he suspected it was the latter.

The tall captain walked calmly forward, easily crossing the distance between them until the two of them were only three meters apart.

"You must be the Ryoka," the Captain said in a deep voice, "Am I correct?"

"You are," Kuroda replied calmly, "I assume you are here to take me into custody or failing to do so, pacify me, correct?"

"Correct," replied the large captain,

"You seem like an honorable fellow," commented Kuroda, "I don't suppose you would consider just letting me pass by?"

"I apologize, but I cannot do such a thing, my orders are to stop you and so I will," replied the Captain,

"I see," said Kuroda as he drew AnShen, "may I at least know the name of the one I'm fighting?"

"Captain of the 7th squad, Komamura Sajin," answered the captain as he drew his own zanpaktou, "and you?"

"Kuroda Ryou," said Kuroda, "You seem like a decent person Captain Komamura, I hate to fight you."

"You yourself seem like a decent person" replied Sajin, "I also hate to fight you."

Kuroda allowed himself a small smirk, Sajin gave a simple nod.

Then, they clashed.

**Meanwhile**

"Yachiru! I've been running for a friggin hour! Is the Ryoka really this way!" yelled Kenpachi, obviously frustrated that he had yet to find his intended target.

"Don't doubt me Kenny! I'm absolutely positive he's this way!"

**Back with Kuroda**

The two warriors clashed in a shower of sparks as their blades grinded against each other.

Despite his larger stature, Kuroda held his own when it came to this power struggle, much to the large Captain's surprise.

Kuroda was the first to act, he broke the lock and jumped into the air, twisting his body and lashing out with his foot. Sajin just barely raised his arm in time to stop Kuroda's incoming attack.

The Ryoka dropped back down and unleashed a flurry of strikes against the larger Captain, Sajin, much to his dismay, was forced to back-peddle to escape from the fierce assault.

Kuroda suddenly jumped and flipped right over the taller Captain's head and landed behind him before lashing out with AnShen. Sajin managed to turn and block the attack but was nearly caught off guard when Kuroda attacked again.

Unwilling to stay on the defensive forever the Captain of the 7th squad held his ground and lashed out at a charging Kuroda. Kuroda back flipped away from the attack as he simultaneously kicked out his foot.

The attack caught Sajin on the hand and caused him to stumble back. The captain quickly recovered and charged his opponent, attacking with a powerful overhead slash, Kuroda brought up his sword and parried the attack.

Sajin attacked again but was again denied by Kuroda's defense. The captain raised his sword to strike again but as he did Kuroda jumped forth through Sajin's defense.

His left arm lashed out, placing his hand on Sajin's right shoulder. Kuroda wrapped his arm around Sajin's protected neck, then using his weight as the extra push he spun the larger captain around and dropped down with him, smashing the Captain's face into the ground.

"I learned that move from watching wrestling," he commented before jumping away from the temporarily subdued Captain.

Sajin quickly pushed himself up from the rubble and charged with full force. Kuroda was caught of guard and couldn't stop the giant captain from grabbing him by the collar and smashing him into the ground then throwing him into a wall.

Kuroda felt pain rack his body as he collided with the stone wall but quickly pushed it aside. He had to defend himself.

The captain came at him with a furious volley of strikes all of which Kuroda managed to parry before using Shunpo to position himself behind the Ryoka and attack with a horizontal swipe.

Kuroda jumped up and away from the attack and landed far away from the Captain but quickly closed the distance and lashed out at the Captain's side.

Blade grinded against blade as Kuroda brushed against the large Shinigami's defense.

As soon as he landed, he lashed out again, this time sweeping AnShen at the Captain's feet.

Sajin jumped out of the attack only to be forced to defend from another attack in midair, this time with no ground to push off of he was sent barreling into a wall, causing a sizeable hole to form as he collided with it.

Before he could move Kuroda came at him like a missile, Sajin just barely raising his sword in time as Kuroda smashed into him, causing to smash through the wall and tumble out into the street.

"Get up Captain, if I'm to defeat you, it will be on your feet," commanded Kuroda as he stepped through the hole in the wall.

Sajin complied and jumped to his feet, determination behind his eyes he pointed his zanpaktou at the Ryoka and commanded, "Roar: Tenken!"

A giant disembodied phantom like arm suddenly appeared out of nowhere, carrying with it an incredibly large sword.

Kuroda's eyes widened with surprise as Sajin swung his sword, causing the phantom arm to follow in his footsteps. The giant sword cleaved towards him, tearing through the wall and paved ground along the way, Kuroda jumped away from the deceptively fast sword.

Before he could recover, Sajin raised the phantom sword again and brought it down on top of Kuroda, the black haired man barely raised his sword in time to block the gigantic sword from crushing him. Even then, the pure strength of the attack combined with its sheer weight was enough to make Kuroda stop.

Though he held steadfast against the attack, he found himself being pushed into the ground. He called on his reiatsu to give him strength and pushed back against the phantom blade.

A crater began to form around him, as he raised his reiatsu further, it gradually became bigger and bigger until finally he shoved the sword away from him and charged towards its owner.

Sajin raised his sword and the phantom arm raised its own in his defense. Kuroda's blade clashed with the much larger blade, but despite being much much smaller, he managed to hold his own before jumping back.

The captain of the 7th squad immediately retaliated with an attack of his own. Kuroda knew that that blocking that phantom sword would take far too much effort and time. He needed to try something else or this would take too long.

As the phantom blade thrust towards him, Kuroda did what few others would have had the courage to do, he charged at the incoming blade.

"What is he doing?" wondered Sajin as he watched Kuroda, "he must raise his blade, or he'll be skewered!"

At the last possible moment, Kuroda jumped through the air and rolling into a ball and flipping through the air right over the giant sword.

Landing behind the dangerous blade, Kuroda charged forth towards the Captain, Sajin swung his sword and the phantom obeyed once more.

The giant's blade swung in a wide arc but Kuroda used his speed to jump over the blade, letting it miss him entirely.

Sajin swung again, but he was no match for Kuroda's speed. Even as his shikai cut a swath of destruction, Kuroda avoided his attacks and eventually slipped past his defenses.

Kuroda raised his sword and swung.

Sajin saw the flash of his opponent's blade and tried to block, but to no avail.

The blade cut down from his shoulder and across his chest.

Sajin jumped away, his breath heavy and labored as he held his wound and fell to his knee in pain.

"It's over Captain of the 7th squad, do not raise your blade at me any longer," said Kuroda as he began to walk away.

"NOT YET," roared Sajin, "I will not accept defeat just yet."

"Do not be a fool," said Kuroda, "that wound cuts across the veins nearest to your heart, the loss of blood will be great, you'll pass out within an hour and die within two."

"I will not accept defeat," repeated the Captain, "I refuse to fail Master Yamamoto!"

"You're fighting for the old man?" asked Kuroda, raising an eyebrow of curiosity,

"When all others despised me for my appearance, when all others shunned me, he took me in. He taught me to be strong, to stand up for myself," explained Sajin as he pushed himself up, "I refuse to repay kindness with FAILURE!"

Kuroda stayed silent, unable to reply to such words. He could only answer with action.

He raised his sword and turned to face the Captain.

"So be it."

Sajin raised his sword and uttered command,

"**BANKAI!"**

Red reiatsu poured out from Sajin's body as his Bankai was unleashed. A tall shadow was cast over Kuroda; his eyes widened as he stared up to see what looked like a giant samurai holding the same blade that had been used to attack him minutes ago.

The samurai stood to its full height, covered from head to toe by thick purple armor and a red mask concealing its face. Horns protruding from its helmet gave it a frightening look even Kuroda had to admit, it was an impressive bankai.

"**Kokujo Tengen Myo"**

"That's an impressive bankai Sajin Komamura," complimented Kuroda, "and so is your reiatsu."

"Prepare yourself Kuroda Ryou," commanded Sajin, "for I will not hold back in this fight!"

"I don't expect you to," replied Kuroda, "so please do not expect me to either."

"**Unleash Chaos: AnShen,"**

With a flash of red, AnShen changed into its shikai form. Kuroda's hand tightened around the hilt of his new sword and held it towards the giant that towered above him.

AnShen's dark red blade flashed brilliantly in the sun, Kuroda could feel its need for battle seep into him, excitement coursed through his veins. The only thing left was to see who would make the first move.

For a brief moment, the two combatants stared each other down, waiting, watching.

The silence was near unbearable.

But it was one that both warriors had felt before. Most people thought that the first strike was the most important but both knew that the second could be even more important. Whoever struck first could be countered. But whoever struck second could lose.

#*&%)(!*&#!)(*&$!)(*#&$)

It was late afternoon and Ichigo was pissed.

"Damn it," he growled as he held the kido orb, "why can't I get this thing to work."

The others had already succeeded but he had yet to get the thing to even glow a little. He sincerely wished that Kuroda had been there at that moment because then could have asked him for help.

"Alright," he said, "let's try this again,"

Taking a deep breath, he began to concentrate and-

"Ichigo!"

Now his concentration was ruined, he turned to see Uryu calling to him from the upstairs balcony.

"What the hell, I was trying to concentrate!" Ichigo yelled angrily, his upper lip curled into a snarl,

"You weren't getting anywhere anyway, trust me," Uryu shouted back, "but never mind your failure, get out here right now! There's something you've got to see!"

Outside, both Orihime and Chad had gathered along with Ganju, Kuukaku, and Yoruichi. Uryu followed by Ichigo soon arrived.

"What's so important?" asked Ichigo when they finally stopped,

"Look," answered Yoruichi as she pointed towards Seireitei,

Ichigo turned his eyes to Seireitei and immediately widened them with surprise. What he saw was a giant samurai swinging its sword while a barely visible figure fought against it.

"Who, is that?" asked Ichigo

"Do you really have to ask?"

!(*$&!()$&*!)(*$&!)(*)

AnShen clashed with the giant's sword, amazingly Kuroda didn't even budge. Instead he released his reiatsu, letting it shroud him in a red aura of death. Skulls seemed to jump forth from his reiatsu and dance around him, his eyes were full of a lust to kill.

But Sajin, who now rode on the giant's shoulder, was undaunted.

Kuroda was the first to break the lock, Sajin raised the giant's sword but Kuroda was far too fast. With his smaller stature he moved in towards the giant's feet and swung AnShen.

With his reiatsu amplifying the swing, Kuroda used AnShen to cut up the back of the giant's leg, from its Achilles tendon all the way up to its hamstrings.

On top of the Tenken, Sajin felt the giant's injury as he entire right leg took a shallow cut. It was overly crippling but it was rather large.

Suddenly he felt sting of another cut form on his abdominals, he looked down to see the Ryoka dragging his blade across Tenken's armored stomach.

Sajin moved the giant's free hand and swatted away at the Ryoka but was unable to, the man slipped through each of his attempts to put him down.

Kuroda had been forced down back onto the ground but quickly jumped up towards the giant samurai and landed on its sword arm and sunk his sword down into it. The giant's free hand came up and tried to swat him away.

Kuroda swiftly avoided the giant hand and jumped onto its exposed arm. He dashed up the giant's forearm all the way up to its shoulder. Sajin saw this and tried to brush away the Ryoka with the giant's hand.

But Kuroda jumped over the hand, came back down onto the giant's shoulder and sunk his sword through its armor, then pushed back, dragging it along with him and slid down the entire length of the giant's arm before finally yanking out AnShen and landing back on the ground.

Sajin growled in pain as a fresh wound appeared on his arm.

He swung his sword again, only for the Ryoka to avoid it with his superior speed. As he lifted his sword back up, his eyes widened with surprise as he spotted the Ryoka standing comfortably on his sword.

"Hi there,"

Kuroda charged forth, AnShen raised for the winning blow. But the captain of the 7th squad threw his sword arm up and in turn sent Kuroda fly nearly a hundred feet up into the sky.

See an opening, Sajin wound up his sword to strike the Ryoka in midair where he was defenseless.

But Kuroda showed no fear. Instead he spun around to face the giant, wind rushing across his face with his cloak flapping violently behind him and his eyes set on the target.

Reiatsu began to build around him as he stored more and more of it inside his body. He raised AnShen over his head and shouted the command,

"**Shibou Ryuu"**

Kuroda swung his sword and shot forth a missile of super dense reiatsu. The missile was the blood red and left a trail of black ash behind it. Its head was a sharp arrow shape, like it was made to skewer its target but what was truly frightening was the mouth on its underside filled with rows of razor sharp teeth.

Sajin's eyes widened as he saw the reiatsu missile race towards him, he swung Tenken's sword at the incoming missile with all his strength in hopes of batting the attack away.

But he would have no such luck.

The missile collided with Tenken's sword and locked them both in a desperate struggle for victory, Sajin poured all his power into Tenken's blade but to no avail.

With one last push, Tenken's blade shattered and the missile pushed through and impacted against the giant's face, detonating and creating a massive explosion that shot plumes upon plumes of smoke into the air around them.

"TENKEN!"

Sajin felt a small trickle of blood roll down his snout as the damage to Tenken was transferred to him, he growled in frustration.

Tenken's mask had been severely damaged, one of the horns on his helmet had been destroyed and now several large cracks ran along its helmet.

"You will pay for that," growled the Captain as he turned to face the Ryoka, only to find he was not there, "where did he go?"

"**Shino!"**

Sajin whipped around to see Kuroda in midair, readying another attack.

"**Kabe!"**

Kuroda unleashed the wave of reiatsu, Sajin raised Tenken's arms in defense. The powerful wave smashed into the giant's hands as it desperately tried to hold back the devastating attack.

Tenken's arms trembled as Sajin felt the palms of his hands begin to burn from the effects of the Ryoka's attack.

The wall's skulls of agony screamed for blood as they beckoned for him to join them in their eternal torment.

Kuroda watched from afar as the captain tried to hold his Shino Kabe back, but he knew that it would be in vain.

Soon, the Shino Kabe became too much for the Captain's bankai. The evil wall of reiatsu finally burned its way through Tenken's hands and finally collided with the Giant's face. The explosion was absolutely massive as Sajin was thrown from Tenken's shoulder, plowing him through the pavement of the streets.

The giant fell to its knees, every part of it from its collar bone up, gone. Defeated, the giant fell to the ground and disappeared.

In the center of a large crater, Sajin Komamura lay defeated. Every bone in his body ached with pain, his own blood began to pool around him and his vision had begun to blur.

He heard the footsteps of the Ryoka coming towards him, getting closer until finally he saw the man standing above him, sword in hand.

Sajin vainly tried to grasp his own sword, but knew that it was useless. He saw the man raise his sword, Sajin closed his eyes and waited for death.

But it never came.

Instead he felt a strange warmth begin to develop along his wounds.

He reopened his eyes to see a green glow emanating from Kuroda's outstretched hand, Sajin recognized it as a healing kido that the members of the 4th squad used.

"That lesson Unohana gave me finally comes in handy," joked Kuroda, "I suppose I should apologize, I didn't mean to hit you that hard."

He was apologizing? For what, defeating him?

Sajin stared at the strange man, his mind stacking question upon questions about him. Why was he here? How did he know so much about the Soul Society? Why was he healing an enemy?

After a few minutes of absolute silence, Sajin finally asked, "Why are you here?"

At first, Kuroda didn't respond, but finally said, "You need to rest, just focus on healing."

"I need to know," Sajin weakly insisted, "you, seem like one who does not abuse his power. Yet you come here and disturb the peace. Why?"

Kuroda's eyes narrowed and his mind searched for an answer.

"Because," he finally said, "there is something I must do here. Something that must be done for the greater good, I hope you understand."

"But what you do is not right," said Sajin, "you disturb our peace, you assault the members of an organization that protects the balance, surely you know that that cannot be the right thing to do."

"That is true, what I do is not what is right."

"You, acknowledge?"

"I do, but I will continue on."

"why?"

"Because, what is good is not always right and what is right is not always good."

Kuroda stood up and looked down at the defeated captain,

"I've healed you enough that you won't bleed out before help arrives," explained Kuroda, ", I must now take my leave, farewell."

With that done, Kuroda vanished with the wind, leaving Captain Sajin Komamura all alone.

Help arrived only ten minutes later, the Captain was hospitalized, put under the direct care of Captain Unohana.

"Your injuries, though many, are not mortal Captain Komamura, in fact you should be out of the hospital within two days," Unohana told him,

"I see, that is good," he replied in great relief,

"Tell me, who did this? Was it the Ryoka?"

"Yes."

"What was his name?"

#!()$*!_#$()!*_)!($*!_)

Ichigo and company looked on in silence. The only one not affected by Kuroda's display of power was Yoruichi and Kuukaku who simply continued smoking on her pipe.

"Well…I guess we should be glad he's on our side," Ganju said nervously, "maybe we won't even need to go in there."

"No! I refuse to accept that!" yelled Ichigo before rushing back inside, also running Ganju over in the process, "I need to get in there!"

"uh…what was that all about?" asked Orihime,

"Kuroda and Ichigo have always had a small amount of rivalry," explained Chad,

"I refuse to accept that as well!" yelled Uryu, also running over an already trampled Ganju, "I must perfect my kido orb technique! I can't lose to a shinigami!"

"Old Kuroda can certainly put on a show," commented Kuukaku

(#*%&()*!&$)(*!&$)#(*&!

Kuroda sat peacefully on the top of one of the towers overlooking Seireitei, giving him a great view of his surrounding area.

He sucked in a breath of the cool night air and let the wind cool his skin. He closed his eyes and tried to enjoy the peace for a while with the only noise being the flapping of his cloak behind him.

"This place hasn't changed much," he heard a deep voice say,

"I didn't really expect it to," he replied as he opened his eyes to see the entity of AnShen floating in the air only a few feet from him, "but thing's certainly feel different."

"So what now?" asked AnShen after a brief pause, "do we wait for Ichigo and the others?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, they'll be here soon, I'm sure of it," he assured, "but Soul Society hasn't pulled out all the stops yet. By now, they should know who I am, they should have sent in their strongest Captains."

"You think they aren't taking you seriously or something?" asked AnShen,

"I don't know," admitted Kuroda, "but I know that they're definitely holding back."

"How do you know?"

"Just a feeling."

"So, what are you going to do about it?" asked AnShen,

Kuroda smirked, "I'm gonna send a message."

!*($&!*($&!()*&$!)(*)

"You just rest for now," said Shunsui to his resting friend, "don't worry, we'll have this invasion over in a soon."

"Shunsui, is it true?" asked Jushiro, "is it true that the Ryoka defeated Captain Komamura?"

"Yes," Shunsui replied solemnly, "I saw it today while you were sleeping."

"How is he?" asked Jushiro,

"He's fine actually, Unohana said he'll be released in about a day or two," said Shunsui, he sighed heavily, "but with all the trouble he's causing, I'll probably have to go out into the field too."

"Don't worry Shunsui, I'll get better soon and then I can take over for *cough* *cough* *cough*!"

"Oi, don't push yourself too hard, you need to rest, or you'll be the death of yourself," warned Shunsui as he poured his friend a cup of tea.

Jushiro eagerly gulped down the contents of the cup before saying a thankyou.

"Ya know, I talked with Unohana, and I think she might know who this Ryoka is," said Shunsui,

"Oh, who?"

"Didn't tell me, but I've got my own suspicions. I think it might be-"

Shunsui was cut off, when both Captains felt a massive wave of pressure descend upon them. Shunsui's eyes widened as he threw open the door of Jushiro's Ugendo quarters.

"N-no way," stuttered Jushiro as he looked outside,

"Well, I guess we know for sure now, huh?"

(!*&$)!(*#&*!($&^!%#$&%^&^#%$^#))^&%^&)

Yoruichi watched in silence as a massive pillar of red reiatsu appeared in the middle of Seireitei. She knew all too well who was the cause of this display, as well as the reason behind it.

She sighed, this would not end well.

Everywhere in Rukongai, people woke from their slumber and left their homes to watch the display.

The shinigami in Seireitei woke and looked outside their barracks.

Even the Captains were forced to take note of Kuroda's message.

(!#*&$)(*%&#()*&#&%*&!#))

Kuroda stood atop his tower, letting loose as much reiatsu as he possibly could. The red pillar bathed the entire sector in a bloody red light.

The entire reason behind was a selfish one but one he felt was necessary.

It was a message, by doing this, he was saying one thing,

"I'm here, I'm powerful, send your best or I'll burn this land to the ground."

**END**

**A/N**

**Okay, this was a long chapter. Dear god I almost have 10,000 words on this thing.**

**In any case, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. For those of you who were Gin fans and didn't like Gin getting beaten up like that, don't worry, you're in for a treat in the next chapter.**

**Please subscribe, review, etc**

**Here's an omake**

"**Ugh," complained "Hanataro Yamada of the 4****th**** squad, why did this person have to have to get injured in such a high place."**

**He had spent the last two hours climbing this watchtower and he still hadn't reached the top.**

"**I'm so sleepy," he mumbled, "maybe I'll just rest my eyes for a moment."**

**He fell to the floor and was instantly asleep, dreaming of wonderful things like cats, children, food, and candy.**

**(Personally I prefer ice cream)**

**He was just getting to the good part when he suddenly woke. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he realized the entire tower was shaking.**

"**What is this, earthquake?"**

**Hanataro ran to a window only to see the world consumed in a bright red wall of light.**

"**AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH IT"S THE END OF THE WORLD!"**

**Arrow points to Kuroda at the top of the tower.**

**A/N**

**For those of you who don't understand what I meant by "not creative" in the beginning, I meant the fact that Kuroda's sword becomes a bigger sword. Which is basically what a lot of the other zanpaktou do.**

_**Shino Kabe/ Death Wall**_**: An attack that essentially resembles a large wave from the ocean, created from the user's reiatsu being poured into AnShen's blade. It is generally used for a wide area to take out multiple foes at once. The wave's surface produces skull like images that add to pure psychological fear of such an attack being performed.**

_**Shibou Ryuu/ Death Dragon**_**: An attack that is performed by concentrating reiatsu into AnShen's blade, when swung the blade lets loose a missile like projectile of super dense reiatsu. The front of the attack takes on an arrowhead like shape and has a mouth on the underside filled with sharp teeth. This again is used to instill psychological fear into the enemy. This attack is generally used against single opponents.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Yay! Another chapter, I'm really getting into this. I've even got Kuroda's bankai all thought up. In this chapter, I'm going to introduce two new OC's. I apologize if Kuroda seems a bit overpowered, but he has been alive for a long time.**

Chapter 13

Familiar faces

Kuroda woke up that morning with a horrible headache. He clenched his teeth in a fit of pain and roughly dug into his temples with his fingers, eagerly trying to soothe the pain.

The light that seeped through the cracks of the window shutters in the warehouse he'd slept in burned stung his eyes. He shut them tight in hopes of regaining an ounce of peace in his head.

Gradually the pain inside his head began to fade away and soon he could think clearly without feeling like a sledge hammer had smashed open his head.

"I need some fresh air," he mumbled as he stood up and replaced AnShen in his sash,

He pushed open the door to the warehouse and stepped outside. The sun seemed particularly bright today.

"Ugh," he groaned as he sat on top of the roof, "why couldn't they have built a few trees in Seireitei? It would be so much more relaxing. All this white reminds me of some lab where they kidnap children and subject them to cruel experiments."

"...maybe I should stop talking to myself," he murmured…to himself,

He let out another deep sight before closing his eyes.

"_**LET ME OUT!"**_

"GAH!"

Kuroda immediately jumped to his feet, hand already on AnShen's hilt but soon realized that he needn't be ready. His hand came up to his face as if trying to block out the intruders of his mind, he felt weak but pushed himself to remain strong, now was not the time to suffer a break down.

Taking a deep breath, he chose a direction and started walking.

!*$&!(*%&!*($&)!(*))!*($&)(*$&!)(*$&)

Captain Ichimaru Gin limped steadily towards the 1st division barracks. His encounter with Kuroda had left him with three broken ribs, a sprained ankle, and a fractured leg. The only reason he was even out of bed was because he'd agreed to using crutches to get around.

"Oi! Can I come in?" he asked loudly, "it's me, Gin! Hello! Anyone?"

There was a brief moment of silence before the doors finally opened, revealing the Captains of all 13 divisions, save Sajin of the 7th.

"You've arrived," boomed the Head Captain.

"What's all this?" asked Gin as he limped inside, "I was just starting to feel well rested when I got called for some emergency. Did you all gather to comfort little o'l me?"

When no one responded, Gin feigned depression.

"I guess not," he pouted, "huh? Where's the Captain of the 13th?"

"Captain Ukitake is on sick leave," answered Tosen,

"Again?" said Gin, "I hope he gets better. Wait, where's Kenpachi?"

"He's out looking for the Ryoka," answered Shunsui, "apparently after you got beaten; he wanted to get a piece of the action as well. He's been running around Seireitei since yesterday."

"He's still looking?" asked Gin, "doesn't he ever run out of energy?"

"Ichimaru Gin," interrupted the Head Captain, "we did not gather here to discuss Kenpachi's antics; we are here to talk about the Ryoka."

"Oh yeah, that guy, I almost forgot about him," teased Gin,

"Enough," boomed the Head Captain, "this ryoka has issued us a challenge that we must not ignore. We must meet it with the full strength of soul society. But some of you are aware as of last night, that this ryoka may be someone we know."

A murmur broke out among the Captains; understandably they were surprised that Soul Society would have left such a dangerous enemy unchecked.

"Ichimaru Gin," said Yamamoto, "I have but one question for you; what was the ryoka's name?"

"His name ya say?"

"Yes,"

"His name; was Kuroda Ryou."

A thick silence hung in the air as soon as the words left Gin's mouth. The head Captain's eyes flashed open with recognition of the name. Shunsui tipped his hat over his eyes so as to hide them from his fellow captains and though it was feint, both Aizen and Tosen, winced at the mention of that name.

The two Captains locked eyes for a moment before quickly pulling away. The message had been sent.

"Are you sure, it was Kuroda?" asked the Head Captain,

"Yup, I saw his face and everything, it was Kuroda alright," assured Gin, "even got to see his shikai again. A real scary one he's got."

"Then it is as I feared," Yamamoto said solemnly, "he has returned for his revenge."

"Who is this Kuroda?" asked Captain Hitsugaya, "and what makes his so dangerous?"

"He is a shinigami," answered Yamamoto, "he held a high position in our ranks only 100 years ago, he was considered one of our very best if not the best."

"Just how powerful is he?" asked Soi Fon, "I remember him from when I was younger but his fighting prowess if relatively unknown to me."

"High enough that only Captains should be allowed to confront him," replied Yamamoto, "and even then, it is best if you do not fight him by yourself."

This struck a chord among the Captains, never before had they been told to exercise such caution. Though for some of them, this was the biggest emergency they had seen to date.

"We must also assume," continued the Head Captain, "that Kuroda intends to bring the remaining ryoka from outside, into Seireitei. He is as resourceful as he is powerful, he must not be underestimated. Captain Soi Fon."

"Yes Head Captain,"

"Have the Onmitsukido scour Seireitei, search every corner for Kuroda. But do not have them engage. The minute they find him, a Captain must be alerted," ordered the Head Captain.

"Yes Head Captain!"

"All Squads must be put on high alert, if you spot Kuroda Ryou, await further instructions. Under no circumstances must he be engaged," ordered Yamamoto,

"Is all this really necessary?" asked Shunsui, drawing attention to himself, "Kuroda's a reasonable guy, can't we just talk to him."

"I wish we could Shunsui," replied Yamamoto, "but Kuroda has always proven stubborn in the past, we'd have little hope with reasoning with him."

Shunsui sighed, "I know, I just wish we didn't have to fight him. Or rather, I wish I didn't have to fight him."

"Then you know?"

"Yeah, I'll go check on Jushiro, see if he's feeling better. If I'm going against Kuroda, I want back up," explained Shunsui,

"What are you talking about?" asked Captain Hitsugaya,

"Shunsui will be our first line of defense," explained Yamamoto, "hopefully he will be able to stop Kuroda before he causes too much damage."

"Two Captain's hospitalized and dozens others badly injured," surmised Mayuri, "I'd say he's caused quite a bit of damage already."

"Captain Unohana, what is the status on Captain Komamura's recovery?" asked Captain Yamamoto,

"He's is recovering nicely, my earlier predictions were actually wrong, he should be ready to leave by tomorrow," she explained,

"Good," said the Head Captain, "we should not underestimate his allies either, Kuroda has only ever allied himself with those he has believed to have the potential to be the best."

"What was his rank in Soul Society anyway?" asked Captain Hitsugaya,

"He was, the Commander of Seireitei's Black Operations,"

A chill crept through the assembly hall and an ominous feeling crawled through all of them.

"I was, not aware that we had a Commander of Black Operations," commented Captain Hitsugaya,

"It is a rank that few have held in the Soul Society, even fewer than those that have held the rank of Head Captain," explained Captain Yamamoto, "only those who have proven themselves to be powerful enough to become a Captain or Lieutenant are considered to become part of the Black Operations. From those few, only one is chosen to be the Commander. That one must be of cold heart and willing to execute his own subordinates if they become weak links. The reason we have not placed another at the head of Black operations is because we have yet to find anyone strong enough or cold enough to be the Commander."

"Then, we're dealing with a professional killer," said Soi Fon,

"Exactly,"

"Then why, did he spare Sajin?" asked Unohana,

"I do not know," admitted the Head Captain, "but for now we need only-"

"Emergency Alert! Emergency Alert!" announced a voice, followed by the sound of constant striking of a large bell, "Intruders detected in Seireitei! All squads, take defensive positions!"

"Intruders?" whispered Aizen

"Is it the ryoka?" asked Hitsugaya

All around Seireitei, shinigami began emerging from their barracks and taking up their positions. The streets were literally filled with Shinigami, all ready to do battle.

Kuroda sat upon the roof of a watchtower and watched as his enemies swarmed through the streets. A ghost of a smirk on his lips.

Meanwhile

"More of them?" asked Kenpachi as he took a break from his constant running, "good, more fighting for me!"

The Captain of the 11th squad watched as the large blue cannon ball smashed into Seireitei's protective field, inside, he was hoping for it to break through.

!()*%#(*%_!*%_)

"It can't be helped," said Yamamoto, "this meeting of Captains is temporarily dismissed, prepare your squads for battle."

With that said, the Captains began to move out, one by one. Captain Hitsugaya, was one of the last to start moving, but as he walked he noticed Aizen stopping suddenly next to the crippled Gin.

"The alarm sounds quite conveniently," said Aizen in a rather hushed tone, "I wonder why it didn't go off when Kuroda entered into Seireitei."

"What are ya sayin? I don't quite understand," Gin replied innocently,

"You think that excuse will work? Don't underestimate me," warned Aizen as he too finally left the hall,

Captain Hitsugaya followed after, his mind buzzing through what he'd just heard.

Soon, Head Captain Yamamoto was the only one left in the assembly hall. He raised his walking stick and tapped it's tip to the ground three times.

"You may come out now," he ordered,

Suddenly, as if out of thin air, two shinigami jumped out of the shadows and took their places in front of the Head Captain.

Unlike other shinigami, these two wore gear similar to the Onmitsukido, except that these two wore black hooded cloaks over their uniform and were missing the face masks.

"So it's true then, he has returned," said the first, his voice calm and kind

"Of course he'd return, the Commander doesn't let things go easily," said the second, his voice rough and energetic

"Then you two know already,"

"Yes," they both said,

"Then you know why I have brought you here,"

"I have an idea," said the first, "you want us, to take down Commander Kuroda."

"Yes," replied the Head Captain,

"Sweet," said the second, "it'll be just like old times. I've been aching to spar with him for a whole century."

"In old times he used to beat us black and blue," reminded the first,

"Yeah well, things change," pointed out the second, "so when do you want us to start?"

"Immediately" answered the Head Captain, "bring him in alive if possible but otherwise, use your full power against him."

"Don't be taken alive, that's our corps motto," said the second, "I'm guessing he'll still follow that."

"Still, we should try to take him alive," said the first,

"Use whatever methods you have at your disposal. You two have your orders, go and bring me Kuroda Ryou!"

*(#*%&()*#&)(*#&)#(*)(*&)($)

Kuroda watched as the kido cannonball managed to push through the force field that surrounded Seireitei, of course something had to go wrong.

The cannon ball for whatever reason broke up upon entering and pretty much scattered everyone into different directions of Seireitei. Which was very, very bad.

"Great, now how am I supposed to decide who to rescue?" he asked himself,

"I should probably go protect Uryu, Orihime, and Chad," he said to himself, after a brief pause he said, "uh…Chad will probably be fine actually. So just Uryu and Orihime."

"Then there's Yoruichi," he continued, "she'll be fine…"

"_Go save her!"_

"No, she'll be fine, she's a big girl, she can take care of herself," he said unconvincingly, "after all, I need…to focus on the mission."

"_You want to save her" teased AnShen_

"She's a former Captain," he said weakly, "she should have no problems."

"_Just think of how thankful she'll be," continued AnShen, "I bet she'll give you a big hug and tell you how much she loves you."_

"No, there'll be nothing to save her from, I should just do what's practical," he said, his will power visibly breaking away,

"_You know you want to," teased AnShen,_

"I-I, gotta, d-do what's right," he managed to say, "I mean it's not like I can imagine what it'd be like right?"

Few minutes later,

"God damn it," he cursed, "I just imagined it."

His face incredibly warm and red, he quickly grabbed the hood attached to his cloak and pulled it over his head.

Usually Kuroda didn't like wearing the thing but this was a special occasion, he did not want anyone to see his face at the moment.

"Well, it can't hurt to just check on her right? I mean in order to fight she'd have to change into human form and then she'd be-"

**On top of a roof somewhere**

"Achoo!," sneezed Yoruichi, "hmm, why do I feel like someone's talking about me?"

**Back with Kuroda**

"Okay that is a valid reason to go to her first," he said as he dashed across the roof tops, "let's see, when we left Soul Society we left some of our things in the secret hideout, so all I have to do is find her, go to the secret hide out and bring her clothes."

"_Because you secretly love her," said AnShen,_

"Will you stop!" he screamed, "I do not love her but I can't just let her run around Seireitei naked! What if someone see's!"

"_I bet you want to see,"_

"Leave me alone!"

**With Ichigo**

"Luc-luc-luc, luc-luc-luc, luc-luc-luc," sang the bald man, luc-luc-LUC, luc-luc-LUC, luck, luck ,luck ,luck, LUCKY!"

Ichigo and Ganju just stared at the bald man with rather stupefied looks, unsure on how to respond to such a…display.

This for some reason, made the bald shinigami mad.

"What the HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING!" screamed the bald shinigami, "can't you see that I was doing my Lucky dance, waiting for you bastards to crawl outta that damn hole! Why are you just staring at me with those faces!"

"What's with him?" Ichigo whispered to no one in particular as the bald shinigami ranted on about how he'd been so considerate and that they should play in to his plan and such.

"Hey," whispered Ganju,

"Huh? What?"

"Don't what me," said Ganju, "we're gonna take our chance and run!"

"Run? No way," protested Ichigo,

"Don't be stupid," spat Ganju "can't you sense their reiatsu? They're nothing like ordinary weakling Shini-"

"What are you two talking about," interrupted the bald Shinigami,

"They're probably so afraid of us that they can't stand to fight," said the bald shinigami's partner,

"Well, argue all you want as long as you want," offered the bald shinigami,

"But if they take too long, others will notice and steal them away from us," pointed out the other,

"Now that you mention it, that's true," agreed the bald one, "alright then, there'll be a time limit. I'm nice enough that I'll do one more dance, after it's done-"

"Anyway, I'm going to run," whispered Ganju, "if you wanna fight, do it alone!"

With that said, Ganju jumped out of the hole and sped off at top speed away from the two Shinigami.

"What the hell, you two break up or something?" asked the bald shinigami,

"You could say that," replied Ichigo,

"Tsk, don't' make me waste my time," muttered the bald one, "Yumichika,"

"On it," said Yumichika, and sped off after Ganju.

Knowing that there was no way Ganju could take on that purple haired shinigami, Ichigo mentally resolved to finish this fight as quickly as possible.

He quickly pulled himself out of the hole and griped Zangetsu,

"Hey," called the bald shinigami, "lemme ask you, why didn't you run? The other guy ran cuz he saw that our reiatsu was greater than his right? That's the smart decision if you ask me."

"If your power is greater than mine, running would be meaningless," answered Ichigo, "you'd definitely catch me and It'd all be over. But if you're weaker, then all I have to do is beat you and move one. There's nothing more to it"

"I see," said the bald Shinigami, "you're not stupid after all."

"But also," continued Ichigo, "I've got someone I want to catch up to; beating you may help me do just that."

"Hm? Well, I suppose I can understand that, let's get to it then. I want to beat you before anyone else shows up!"

!(#*%(#*%&_!#*()%&_#_#*%_!%(_+)

Kuroda was busy running towards the direction of Yoruichi's reiatsu; part of him still couldn't believe he was doing this.

"Her reiatsu is getting stronger," he whispered, "I must be getting close."

As he continued hopping across the roof tops of Seireitei a strange sensation entered into his mind. He immediately took note of the odd tickle in his brain as he continued forward, it felt like something familiar was nearby.

"_What is it?"_

"I sense reiatsu I have not felt since-"

Kuroda had barely enough time to dodge when someone suddenly shouted, "Hado.33: Sokatsui!"

White lighting lashed out in the corner of his left eye, he pivoted of his foot and spun out of the way of the deadly blast.

"Hado.31: Shakkaho!" shouted a new voice,

Kuroda spun around and saw the red orb of kido shoot out at him from the shadows, he lashed out with his hand and batted the deadly orb away with little effort.

"Bakudo.62: Hyapporankan!"

From his right a barrage of purple glowing rods were thrown, Kuroda pushed of his foot and quickly backed away from the Bakudo that could potentially leave him defenseless.

"Hado.63 Raikoho!" he heard from above,

Kuroda looked up to see a massive wave of yellow energy crash down towards him. As he back peddled away from the Bakudo at his front, he purposefully fell backwards. Catching himself with his left hand, he used it to flip away from both attacks, landing a safe distance away.

The Hado hit the ground and sent a powerful gust of wind and dust through the streets, but left Kuroda himself completely untouched.

"Level 60 kido without incantation?" he asked, that could only mean a high ranked shinigami but what bothered him wasn't the fact that the kido had been performed without incantation; it was the fact that he hadn't sensed them until now.

"Great reflexes as always Commander," said a voice from behind him,

"That voice," he turned around to see two figures shrouded by black cloaks, their faces obscured by their hoods.

"And just as powerful as ever," said the other, "smacked away my kido like it was nothing."

Kuroda narrowed his eyes and placed his hand upon AnShen's hilt, "it's you two."

"Oh, and he remembers us," said the second, "yeah, you got us."

Together, the two shinigami took off their hoods.

"It's good to see you again Commander,"

"Raijin Takeda Lieutenant of Seireitei's black operations,"

Rajin was a man that looked well educated and had a kind face. His blonde hair was well groomed and relatively long, most of it falling past his ears. What gave him the educated look were undoubtedly his thin rimmed glasses that seemed to highlight his impossibly blue eyes. Though relatively thin looking, he was in perfect shape.

But despite his outward appearance, he had become the Lieutenant of the darkest warriors in Soul Society for a reason. He had initially been the 3rd seat of the 2nd division under Yoruichi, but she had recommended him to transfer to be under his own command. Inside the 2nd division Rajin was known for his incredibly fast attacks and pinpoint precision. His title was: _**Rakurai**_ "The lightning bolt", because just like a lightning bolt, he could be absolutely devastating in the blink on an eye.

"Kaito Shibata, 3rd seat of Seireitei's black operations,"

Kaito was Rajin's complete opposite when it came to outward appearances, the man looked absolutely feral. In contrast to Rajin's well-groomed hair, Kaito's brown hair was relatively wild and spikey. The man was quite muscular, a fact of which Kaito took much pride in and his deep green eyes seemed to complete the psychopathic look that Kaito had mastered.

Kaito had originally been in the 11th division, one could tell simply from the torn sleeves of his uniform. A lover of fighting ever since the academy, he fit perfectly into the squad of battle experts. He eventually rose to the level of lieutenant and would have eventually challenged the Kenpachi for the title of Captain, and won, had he not been recruited by Kuroda for his own purposes.

The wild man soon built a reputation among the operatives as a berserker, as well as one of the strongest men in the entire squad. The only reason Rajin had won in their battle for the spot of Lieutenant was because he could lead men with a cool head, Kaito's idea of a plan was simply to find the biggest hammer he could and start smashing things with it, though he was surprisingly good at kido, even better then Rajin in some aspects.

In short, they were two of the deadliest people to ever step foot in Soul Society.

"It's been a while," said Rajin, "you look good, a bit pale though."

Kuroda snorted, "your one to talk, from the look of your skin. I'd say you've spent most of your days in the office."

"Damn right he does," said Kaito, "he makes me go out on all the missions, all he ever does is paper work."

"Paper work is an important part of running a squad Kaito," Rajin pointed out,

"Whatever," replied Kaito, "we never did paper work in the 11th division,"

"Back to the matter at hand," said Rajin, "Commander, I expect that you know why we're here."

"Yes, I knew that it was only a matter of time before they sent you," replied Kuroda, "I'll tell you right now, I won't be taken alive."

"Ha! Just like I told you, Commander would never let himself be taken alive," laughed Kaito, "and that's just what I'd expect."

Rajin lips formed a sad smirk, "I don't suppose I could persuade you could I?"

"Sorry," replied Kuroda, "but I have a mission to carry out."

Together, the two black op's agents drew their katana.

"We hold nothing against you Commander," said Rajin, "when we were all children, you helped us survive, you taught us to fight, you brought us into Seireitei. Without you, we'd both be dead. But we must carry out our orders."

Kuroda nodded in acceptance and drew his own sword, as he pointed his blade at his adversaries. He felt a strange sense of nostalgia fall over him. He remembered;

_Flash back_

_Kuroda walked towards the broken town that was district 78 of Rukongai, this was after he'd met Yoruichi and Kisuke. He could have stayed in the peaceful neighbor hoods of the upper districts but he chose to visit the lower districts every now and then, to remind himself of where he'd come from._

_His body had matured somewhat over the years, no bearing the body of an early teen. He'd plan to enroll in the academy for shinigami soon, along with Yoruichi and Kisuke._

_As he walked through the streets of the dangerous district, he noted the various criminals that sat on the sides and hid in alleys, all of them eyeing him, most likely thinking him an easy target. But as desperate as they might be, they weren't stupid._

_Strapped to Kuroda's back was a well-crafted wakizashi, ever since the incident in the alley with Yoruichi. She'd given it to him, though he initially resisted, he eventually gave way to her constant pleading._

_On the same day he'd accepted the weapon, Kisuke slapped him on the back of the head as punishment for making Yoruichi worry so much. Kuroda had punched him in the face, not too hard, the doctors managed to fix his nose after all._

_As he continued his walk, he eventually found himself down an alley, he knew he'd probably get ambushed here but he didn't mind, he could use some excitement. Though, the ambushers were not what he was going to expect._

_Kuroda soon heard footsteps behind him, unusually soft and quite footsteps but he could definitely hear them. Two sets, only ten feet away, Kuroda dared not turn back, if he did they might just jump him._

_He gradually began to take slower and slower steps until he could hear the footsteps as though they were right behind him._

_He heard a few whispers, plans on how they were going to take him down. A small smirk of excitement crossed his lips. By now the footsteps were just behind him._

_The footsteps suddenly shuffled and picked up pace, Kuroda swung around and lashed out with his elbow, intending to catch the thug in the stomach._

_But when his elbow made contact, Kuroda looked to see that he had instead caught his attacker on the chin and what was even more surprising was the attacker's height, he was pretty short, just an inch or two lower than Kuroda._

_The thug went tumbling to the ground, that's when Kuroda got his first good look at his attacker. _

_It was just a kid._

_A scrawny kid, not much younger than him with wild brown hair and deep green eyes, for a moment, Kuroda was completely stunned. He'd always known that there were other children that lived in this district but he'd never seen any with the guts to take up the criminal ways._

_As it turns out, his attack had done little in the way of damage because the kid was immediately back on his feet. The wild child lashed out with a series of quick jabs, they were clumsily thrown and as such Kuroda had little difficulty dodging them._

_Suddenly, the kid threw a punch that was both powerful and accurately performed. Kuroda was caught off guard and was smacked in the chin. The attack sent him stumbling back but he managed to regain his balance without much trouble._

_The kid lashed out again with another powerful punch, this time Kuroda was ready. He grabbed the kid by the wrist and pulled him through while he side stepped, then tripped the boy and flipped him head over heels._

"_Wait, weren't there two of you," he said to himself._

_Suddenly someone snuck their arm around his neck from behind and held him in a powerful choke hold. Kuroda felt his lungs struggle for air, his attacker was no novice, if this was kept up any longer Kuroda would lose conscious._

_He reached behind and grabbed his new attacker by the armpits and tossed him over his shoulder into the other kid who'd just managed to get up._

_Kuroda now saw that his newest opponent was another child, again no younger than him. Blond hair and glasses with incredibly blue eyes, the two of them quickly recovered and assumed a battle stance._

_Kuroda by now had had enough of this fight and quickly drew his wakizashi. The sight of the blade immediately deterred the two from attacking any longer._

_For a long moment, the three stared at each other, both parties wondering who would make the first move._

_The silence was suddenly broken when a loud gurgling sound filled the alley._

_The blond haired kid fell to his knees and gripped his stomach; the other boy immediately came to his aid._

"_Hey, hold on," said the brown haired feral child,_

"_I-I'm fine," said the blonde haired kid, "just need a moment."_

_Kuroda knew that sound better than most people; he'd had such sounds many years ago._

_He reached into his pack and pulled out a black box._

_The two boys, too busy with their own problems, failed to notice Kuroda until he was right in front of him. As soon as they noticed, both raised their fists in defense, ready to fight._

"_Here," said Kuroda, offering them the black box._

_The two were immediately skeptical, neither moving to take the box. Kuroda sighed and took the cover off the black box, revealing that it was in fact a bento box._

_The two boys began to drool at the sight and smell of the food, the blond boy immediately snatched the box from Kuroda and held it between the two of them. Both began to gobble hungrily at the food, practically stuffing themselves._

"_You two were hungry," said Kuroda, "which means that you're special."_

_The two took note of his words but refused to stop stuffing their faces._

"_What are your names?"_

"_Rajin,"_

"_Kaito,"_

_End of Flash back_

And now here they were again, weapons bared at one another, their killer instincts on high alert.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this again," said Kuroda as he reached up his sleeve and took hold of the first band on his arm, "but if I'm to deal with you two, I must. Let's see if you both still remember what I taught you all those years ago."

With the single move, he unlocked the band.

The results were immediate, Kuroda's reiatsu sky rocketed, sending powerful gusts of wind in ever direction. His reiatsu danced around him in powerful waves of red energy, the pavement around him began to crack, only a little at first, but suddenly everything in a five meter radius was damaged beyond repair. Small worms of red energy would occasionally wiggle their way through the broken pavement and along the walls.

"HAHA! Yeah! That's what I'm talking about," cheered Kaito with pure joy, "this'll just be like old times."

"If I remember correctly," said Kuroda as he raised his sword in challenge, "I always let you two make the first move."

!#_!#()%*_#%()&!_()!#%*_()_!#()%&*_)(*#!_())

"Save her? How many of you came?" asked a defeated Ikkaku, "you'd need at least seven or eight!"

"Nope, Six and a half," replied Ichigo with all seriousness,

"Huh? What's that mean, "and a half," asked Ikkaku, "whatever, you really think you're going to save her with that many people?"

Ichigo smirked, "Absolutely,"

Ikkaku suddenly burst into unrestrained fits of laughter, practically rolling on the ground with joy.

"There's no way! You must be retarded," he screamed between laughs, until suddenly he cried out in pain, "Argh! My wound opened up again cause I was laughing too hard!"

"You must be retarded," muttered Ichigo.

!#&*(#_%()_#%&!#_(&_!#%(_)(#%^&#$$%&#^%*)

Two blades clashed against one, sparks flew and steel grinded against steel. Kuroda held back the blades of his former comrades; all sentimentality had fled from their eyes. From now on, it was kill or be killed, that was their way.

With a roll of his shoulders, he shoved the blades back, buying himself a precious few moments. As his opponents reeled back, he charged forth. He lashed out first against Kaito, his blade deflected his first attack but Kuroda spun into his swing and came back around with a round house kick. Kaito raised his arm in defense and caught the blow, though it caused him to skid back he remained unharmed.

Rajin suddenly jumped through the air and swung at Kuroda's unprotected flank, Kuroda however side stepped the attack and grabbed Rajin by the elbow, then tossed him through using the man's own weight to add to the throw.

Rajin fell forward but rolled into it, somersaulting across the ground and jumping back unharmed.

Kuroda came at Lieutenant with few quick swipes of his sword, all of which were dodged. Rajin retaliated with a leaping overhead chop, their swords clashed and locked together.

The former commander was just about to break the lock when, Kaito jumped out from behind Rajin, his sword already in full swing.

"Surprise!"

Kuroda was forced to break the lock and jump back, unfortunately, he was not fast enough to prevent the 3rd seat from placing a scratch on his cheek.

"Ha! First blood!"

"Last blood counts for more," retorted Kuroda before charging forth.

Kuroda swung at Kaito twice, both times he was denied. Kaito suddenly jumped back and let Rajin jump forth with an overhead strike. The blow hit hard enough that Kuroda was forced to stumble back but quickly recovered.

He fought back with two heavy strikes targeting Rajin's left and right, his third strike came head on and was powerful enough to knock Rajin back even though he managed to block the attack.

Kuroda took advantage of Rajin's temporary vulnerability, he leaped forth and grabbed Rajin by the shoulder, out of the corner of his eye he saw Kaito leaping to the defense of his friend. Kuroda used Rajin as a balance and pushed off the ground, kicking out with his feet, catching the 3rd seat right in the face. The blow sent him reeling back, temporarily stunned and confused.

As his feet came back to the ground, Kuroda moved his hand so that his arm wrapped around Rajin's shoulder, he pushed down on Rajin and brought the lieutenant crashing down with him, smashing his body into the ground.

Kuroda quickly rolled to his feet and attempted to bring the point of his blade down on top of Rajin but the lieutenant rolled away from his attack.

The rouge warrior heard a savage battle cry from behind and jumped away just in time to avoid a devastating swing from Kaito. Rubble flew through the air as Kaito's blade smashed into the pavement of the street.

Kaito continued his assault with a savage flurry of swings, Kuroda managed to block or dodge most but some came uncomfortably close to hitting their mark.

Kaito unexpectedly ducked down to reveal Rajin using his back as a spring board for his hand to perform a flying kick. Kuroda raised his arms in defense just in time to block the strike.

With Rajin now in the front, the lieutenant began to swing away with quick precise attacks in contrast to Kaito's hurricane of uncoordinated attack

Kuroda decided it was time to switch to the offense.

He parried Rajin's latest attack, then swung his sword once, twice, three times, only to be denied. He swung once more, but this time he channeled his reiatsu into AnShen's blade, as soon as their blades clashed, Rajin was sent flying back into a wall from the sheer power of his attack.

Kaito stepped in for his friend, starting off with a powerful roundhouse slash, followed up with a powerful uppercut with his sword.

The former Commander accepted the blows with his sword. Kaito swung again but this time Kuroda lashed out with his hand and caught the 3rd seat by the wrist, he quickly raised his knee into Kaito's stomach, than swung his free hand, catching Kaito's cheek with his bare fist.

The force of the blow caused Kaito to spin around, exposing his flank to his opponent. Kuroda could have ended it there; one clean blow would have been all that would have been needed. But he chose not to, instead he leaped into the air and struck out with both of his feet. The blow connected solidly with Kaito's back and caused the man to crash into his just recovering partner.

The two shinigami quickly recovered, appearing unfazed by Kuroda's attacks.

Both Kaito and Rajin extended their hands and shouted, "Hado. 31: Shakkaho!"

Twin orbs of red energy shot towards Kuroda with alarming speed, he raised AnShen like a bat, waited for the right moment then swung with all his strength.

AnShen's blade found both orbs and batted them away. However, the orbs exploded just moments after being hit, causing smoke to pour into the air and temporarily blind him.

"Damn!"

Kaito's fist suddenly exploded out from the smoke and smashed right into Kuroda's jaw, the blow sent him reeling back but it was a minor wound.

Kaito, seeing his surprise attack was not enough; he immediately took up the attack again. He suddenly disappeared in a burst of superhuman speed and reappeared behind his commander. Swinging his sword with all his might but Kuroda suddenly disappeared as well, leaving Kaito with nothing but air to cut.

"What the-"

Kaito was quickly interrupted when Kuroda's fist suddenly connected with his face from his right, sending him tumbling to the ground. But the commander wasn't done just yet, he reappeared above the dazed Kaito and brought his foot down on the man's stomach.

Kaito instantly had the wind knocked out of him and gagged with pain, throwing himself into a fit of coughs.

Kuroda heard the shuffle of feet behind him; he switched to a reverse grip with AnShen and quickly swung around just in time to block an incoming strike from Rajin. Using the reverse grip's strength in blocking to his advantage, he pushed back against the lieutenant's blade, swiftly pulled his sword back to his waist and thrust it forward, shoving the butt of his hilt into Rajin's stomach.

The man keeled over in pain but was amazingly only lightly effected, still having enough strength to grab Kuroda by the collar and toss him over his shoulder like a rag doll.

Kuroda unfortunately landed on his back. Kaito took advantage of his position and rushed towards Kuroda, dragging the tip of his sword along the ground.

"Crap," spat Kuroda as he saw the blade racing forth to decapitate him.

He quickly spun himself on the palm of his hand and shot out with both feet at Kaito, his legs clamped around Kaito's heels and caused the man to fall to the ground.

Kuroda released the 3rd seat, then jumped back to allow himself a bit of breathing room.

Kaito pushed himself back up, rubbing his now sore forehead as a small trickle of blood traveled down his face.

Rajin, now fully recovered, joined his comrade at his side, both raised their swords to their ready position.

"Well done," said Kuroda, "you two have definitely improved in the time I have been away. I'm happy to see my absence hasn't caused the entire squad to became lazy"

"Thank you Commander, It hasn't been easy but I've managed to keep the squad together," replied Rajin,

Kuroda let a smile break onto his lips, "I applaud you, truly, but you still have a while before you catch up with me."

The commander suddenly disappeared from view, both shinigami were immediately on their guard.

But it was in vain, Kuroda appeared in between them, his sword raised high above his head, reiatsu overflowing into its blade.

Both Shinigami had but a second to realize what was happening before Kuroda smashed his sword down on the ground. A massive explosion tore through the streets and walls as all the reiatsu stored in AnShen was released in one single amplified swing.

Rajin and Kaito had just barely enough time to jump away, rubble pelted their skin, dust stung their eyes.

The storm had clouded a full section of Seireitei under a blanket of dust, obscuring their vision to almost zero visibility.

"Uh oh," muttered Kaito,

He was to say the least, in a bad situation. He'd been separated from Rajin in the initial attack and now he was practically blind, one thing you never wanted to lose on the battlefield was your vision.

He tried to calm himself with a few deep breaths, intently listening to anything that might give away the enemy's location.

He heard a quick shuffle behind him, he whipped around but found nothing. Another sound to his side, he turned but again found nothing.

"Your back is wide open,"

Kaito's eyes widened, without thinking he pushed off his foot in a mad attempt to run away. But there was no stopping it.

AnShen tasted blood, the tip of his blade had slid in between Kaito's ribs, leaving the man with a nasty gash on his side.

Rajin heard Kaito pained yell, perhaps it was just fortune that while he ran towards the sound he stumbled into Kaito who had just recently escaped a mortal wound.

"Kaito!"

"Where the hell have you been?"

"I was just-"

"Look out!"

Rajin saw the shadow too late, he had just enough time to glance up and see his Commander dropping down from the sky.

Rajin jumped back, but felt the cold steel of his commander's zanpaktou. The tip of the blade had clipped him, giving him a long bloody scratch running down his cheek.

"Damn," he cursed,

By now the dust had settled, but now it was too late. They were both injured, though minor, it still meant that they were at a disadvantage.

"Well done," said Kuroda, "most people die after I use this tactic."

"Well, we did improve," Kaito pointed out jokingly, "still, you got us. Even if they are just flesh wounds."

"They aren't flesh wounds, your bleed all over the ground," scolded Kuroda,

"I've had worse," replied Kaito cockily, "besides, I've got this."

Taking the hilt of his zanpaktou, he unclipped the bottom of it, pushed in his finger and took out a glob of brownish goo. He wiped it across his rib wound and instantly stopped the bleeding.

"Now, where were we?" asked Kaito,

"We were fighting," answered Rajin, "but it seems that if we are to have a chance at winning, we're going to have to raise the stakes."

"Agreed, you're still a handful commander," said Kaito, "I'm just glad we survived as long as we did."

Rajin raised his sword above his head, blue reiatsu began to gather all around him in a blue aura around his body.

Kaito pointed his zanpaktou straight out, yellow reiatsu began to merge around him into a powerful fire around his shoulders.

"**Enter: Denko Te!"**

"**Smash their bones: Gaikotsu!"**

Rajin disappeared in a bright flash of blue lightning, Kaito was engulfed in a geyser of yellow skulls. The combined weight of their reiatsu took its toll on the their surroundings as walls cracked and broke down, street tiles shattered, and rubble defied gravity, hanging weightless in the air.

When the great lights subsided, Rajin and Kaito stood wielding the true forms of their zanpaktou.

Kuroda stared calmly at the two shinigami, the power emanating off of them was palpable, anyone inside Seireitei would have taken notice of these two powerhouses.

"Denko Te," announced Rajin, "the most powerful lightning zanpaktou in all of Seireitei."

Rajin's zanpaktou had turned into a pair of Katar, handles decorated with ornate designs, blades razor sharp and teeming with electricity. The foot long blades each had the design of a silvery dragon traveling down along them; a single touch against the blades was absolutely devastating.

In all of Kuroda's life, he had never found a weapon more suited to close quarters combat, than Rajin's Denko Te zanpaktou.

"Gaikotsu," announced Kaito, "the only dual element zanpaktou in all of Soul Society."

Kaito's zanpaktou had turned into a large, nightmarish hammer. While the handle was only about 3 feet long, the hammer's head was large enough to completely crush a man's head. The head itself was a giant rectangle of pure steel, with a frightening dragon skull design. Even the handle looked like a giant, thick spinal cord.

It was perhaps the most adept weapon at causing massive amounts of destruction without its bankai. Not only that, but his zanpaktou had mastery of both wind and earth.

As if to prove the point, Kaito suddenly swept the ground with the head of the hammer, sending a massive wave of jagged rock rolling straight at Kuroda.

The jagged pieces of earth moved surprisingly fast; only with the use of Shunpo was he able to weave through the deadly barrage of rocks.

He escaped Kaito's earth based attack, only to be met with a powerful wind tunnel that sent him spiraling into the air.

"You're getting better at that," commented Rajin as he watched Kuroda be blow away by Kaito's attack.

"Thank you,"

"My turn then," decided Rajin,

Drawing back his fist, he poured reiatsu into his katar; the giant punch daggers seemed absolutely giddy as the static on them became even more frantic. With a single swift move, he pumped his fist forth.

A single bolt of lightning shot forth from his katar; racing towards the inflight Kuroda like a hungry animal.

"Damn," he thought,

The lightning bolt connected with the body and exploded.

His reiatsu disappeared and he was gone.

The two shinigami looked on as the smoke from the explosion dissipated; there was no trace of the man.

Most would have assumed that they'd destroyed the man but the two remained unconvinced. Their suspicions were rewarded with the sound of clapping behind them.

"Bravo," they heard, "your team work has definitely improved."

The two turned to see Kuroda, relaxing against a rock, completely unharmed.

"Way of Onmitsu, 3rd of the Shiho," guessed Rajin, "I should have expected as much."

"Indeed," replied Kuroda as he pushed himself up, "but now, It's time to be serious. I don't expect you two to hold back."

"We wouldn't dare," replied Kaito, "from this point on, our lives are on the line."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

The three combatants glared at each other, their eyes filled with the intent to kill. This was where the true fight began, this was where they dropped any bonds of fellowship, this was where titans would clash on the field of battle.

Together, the three men unleashed the full potential of their reiatsu. This was a final warning, a tradition among their squad, it told each combatant:

"We're not backing down, the fights on!"

**End**

**A/N**

**I hope you liked this chapter. I was waiting to introduce Kaito and Rajin, they're two OC's that I came up with before I started writing this story. Kaito was interestingly enough a byproduct of creating Rajin.**

**You see, earlier, I'd read an OC x Soi Fon story on this website. It was interesting and I decided to put down a Soi Fon story as an option. Of course, ultimately I decided to go with this story, but it felt like a waste to throw out the idea when I'd already come up with some great ideas for it, including the character Rajin. So I said to myself "hey, why not put him into this story?"**

**So that's what I did. I decided I'd make him a close friend of Kuroda but if felt a bit unbalanced having just the two of them, they're both relatively calm individuals. So I needed someone to balance them out, that solution came in the form of Kaito. He's kind of the wild child of the group.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked it.**

**Next time: The biggest clash yet, Kuroda vs Kaito and Rajin. Also, Ichigo makes his way closer to Rukia.**

**Here's an Omake**

**Kuroda appears by a large smart board with a pointer in hand.**

"**Good evening, today I will be talking to you about my Lieutenant's zanpaktou; Denko Te" he explains as a picture of Rajin's Denko Te appears on screen.**

"**Denko Te, when in Shikai form, becomes a pair of powerful punch daggers known as Katar. It is considered the most powerful lightning type zanpaktou in all of soul society," he says as the picture switches to Rajin holding his zanpaktou,**

"**The zanpaktou, due to its form, is incredibly adept at close quarters combat," he continues, "it's light, short, and easy to maneuver. In addition to that, it has powerful lightning based ranged attacks that can be used to devastating effect."**

"**Wow," says AnShen as he walks onto the stage, "Denko Te sounds pretty useful."**

"**He's a hell of a lot more useful then you," remarks Kuroda,**

"**What? Why?" screams AnShen indignantly,**

"**Have you ever tried using a sword as long as your shikai form? It's bloody hard to master, I can tell you that,"**

"**Ha, you just don't appreciate my look," decided AnShen,**

"**Oi," said a new voice,**

**The two turned to see Gin, limping onto the stage.**

"**Why are you two taking up my screen time?"**

"**We're no taking up your screen time," replied Kuroda as he pulled a script out, "see, this is the memo."**

"**What? I didn't know about this," says Gin as he takes the script.**

**He reads through it thoughtfully and is shocked to find what he sees.**

"**Gin is very sad," he says tearfully in the corner,**

"**Uh…maybe we should have broken it to him in a nicer way," said Kuroda,**

"**Yeah…I think we should have," agrees AnShen,**


	14. Chapter 14

**I like how this is shaping out. This chapter shall conclude the battle between Kuroda and his friends and will also include a small twist in Ichigo's story that will explain later events. Because, in all honesty, there are one or two things in later arcs that don't coincide with what happens now, not in my story but in early episodes.**

***Cough* Kenpachi vs Ichigo *cough***

**Anyway, enjoy the show.**

**Where were we anyway? Oh yes, I remember now.**

Chapter 14

Planning the bigger picture

"Oh boy, what's he done this time?" asked Yoruichi,

In the far distance of Seireitei, Yoruichi watched from her roof top view as another explosion rocked through the streets.

Shinigami dropped what they were doing to stop and watch as mushroom cloud after mushroom cloud of dirt was thrown up into the air by the three combatants fighting in the middle of their serene city.

"Who is that?" said one,

"Is it one of the Captains?" asked another,

"It must be…", answered a third

"what's with this reiatsu, it's strangling me,"

Yoruichi was not surprised. With the amount of reiatsu being emanated by those involved in the fight, it was to be expected that the weaker shinigami would immediately feel the effects of being in a greater presence.

Judging by the feel of it, one of those fighting was definitely Kuroda. Yoruichi could pick out his reiatsu among a millions others if she had to.

"I suppose I should go help him," she sighed, "I wonder who he's fighting."

**Else where**

"Whoa Kenny, did you see that?" asked Yachiru with large wide eyes as another explosion threw up a geyser of dirt in the far far distance.

"Yeah," he replied,

"Do you think it's the ryoka?" asked Yachiru,

"Of course it is," he scolded, "who else would be fighting at this time?"

"But they're so far away," complained Yachiru, "do you think we'll make it in time?"

"If what I've heard about this guy is true, then I won't need to worry about someone else beating him before me," answered Kenpachi before dashing off towards the fight,

**!()#%_&!_#()&*!#()*!_#()%*!_!#+%*+!#%)+#%+#%)*+)()**

Kuroda quickly jumped back as Rajin fired off another volley of his deadly lightning bolts from his Denko Te.

Just as he touched back to the ground, Kaito suddenly sprung out from the cover of the smoke behind him, his hammer raised high above his head, ready to smash Kuroda into a bloody pulp.

With a savage battle cry Kaito swung his hammer.

Kuroda swiftly twisted himself around and raised his sword to block the attack. The two collided and sent out a powerful shockwave that actually created a sizeable crater beneath them.

When Kaito's feet came back into contact with the ground, he attacked Kuroda with a vicious fury of swings, only to be denied his prize by Kuroda's AnShen.

Kuroda quickly retaliated by parrying the man's latest attack and then launching his own barrage of swings.

The black haired man swung out with a wide horizontal swing aimed for Kaito's chest. But the savage warrior, who was a veteran of many battles, flipped over the attack and his opponent, landing safely behind Kuroda.

Taking advantage of his position, Kaito spun around on his foot while lashing out with his hammer at the same time in an effort to catch his opponent off guard.

But Kuroda easily dodged the attack by pushing off his foot and landing a safe distance away.

"You can't get away that easily!" Kaito shouted,

He smashed the head of his hammer into the ground; something seemed to come out of his hammer and burrow underground then dig its way towards Kuroda.

About ten feet before reaching Kuroda, it stopped. Suddenly a large jagged spike or rock shot out from the earth, then another and another, each shooting out closer and closer to Kuroda with an alarming amount of speed.

Kuroda drew back his sword with a deadly calm. Just as the jagged spikes were about to impale him, Kuroda swung AnShen in a wide arc.

All the spikes that had shot out from the earth were suddenly split in half and fell harmlessly to the floor, leaving nothing more than stumps of rock jutting up from the ground.

However this did not deter the psychopathic shinigami. No, in fact it simply made excited. A chilling grin spread across his face as he watched how his commander had so easily defeated his attack.

But Kuroda wasn't finished yet.

He raised his sword above his head and swung,

"**Shibou Ryuu"**

The dark red missile of reiatsu shot out from his sword and sped towards it's target: Kaito.

Kaito in response raised his hammer over his head and swung it in a series of wide circles.

"**Gufuu Toku!"**

Almost immediately, the air around him rushed to his side in the form of a miniature tornado that completely shielded him from the outside world.

Kuroda's attack smashed into the wind based shield; the two powers struggled for a few brief seconds with neither gaining the advantage. The teeth of the Shibou Ryuu seemed to gnash together out of frustration as it was continuously failed to penetrate the tornado.

Finally, Kuroda's attack detonated. The explosion completely engulfed the tornado in fire and smoke, causing it to break apart but still leaving Kaito relatively unharmed.

Kaito smirked at his ability to successfully stop the attack but his happiness was short lived as Kuroda suddenly came bursting through the smoke, AnShen poised to deliver a devastating blow.

In a vain attempt to stop the attack, Kaito began to raise his hammer but found he would not make it in time to stop Kuroda's blade.

There was a flash of movement and Rajin was suddenly in between them.

Kuroda's blade had been stopped; despite its greater swing power Rajin had found a way to stop it. He'd cleverly blocked it with the broad side of his katar and supported it by placing the second dagger directly behind it. A classic cross-block technique.

Kuroda could not help but smile, but of course he could not let them get too full of themselves.

Shifting the placement of his strength and shuffling his feet forward a few steps, he swung the hilt of his sword forward.

Rajin was caught off guard by this move but was nonetheless able to swing his head back just in time to dodge the clever trick Kuroda had used, or had he?

Kuroda had known Rajin for many years and something he'd learned in those years was that Rajin knew that wearing glasses was a disadvantage in combat. Thus, one of the areas of the body he worked the hardest on protecting was his face.

Kuroda's aim, had never been to hit Rajin with his hilt, he just need him off balance.

With blinding speed, Kuroda pulled his hands back, dropped down low, and swept Rajin's feet from beneath him. The black haired man then quickly raised himself back up and kick out with his foot again, catching Rajin square in the stomach.

The kick sent Rajin barreling through the air and straight into a wall.

Kaito was quick to step in for his friend and began swinging without mercy in an attempt to overwhelm his deadly opponent.

Kuroda's superior speed kept him out of Kaito's deadly frenzy. Kaito attacked with an overhead strike, Kuroda sidestepped and let the hammer smash into the ground, bad move.

Almost too suddenly for him, a ring of jagged rocks shot out from the ground, threatening the man with impalement.

He just barely managed to escape from the deadly spikes, though his shirt's collar was now torn.

Without warning the jagged spikes of rock raised themselves out of the ground and began to levitate a good five feet in the air. Kaito had his hammer raised in front of him a smug look on his face; he pointed his hammers head at Kuroda and unleashed his fury.

"Crap," muttered Kuroda,

With the first rock missile nearly upon him, Kuroda quickly back flipped away. Again and again he was forced to be quick on his feet as the deadly projectiles kept coming, each moving with great speed and deadly accuracy.

But Kuroda didn't like staying on the defensive for too long, it was boring. He didn't enjoy fighting but still, boring was boring, no matter what it was.

"**Shino Kabe!"**

He swung his reiatsu enhanced sword; the powerful red wave of energy tore through the barrage of stone spears.

Rajin, now recovered, stepped forth to challenge Kuroda.

"**Raikou Raion!"**

Lightning wrapped itself around both Rajin's hand, soon forming into the shape of a lion's head that encompassed the entirety of each hand. The energy was so intense that the lightning would occasionally lash out and scorch the ground.

Rajin drew back his hand and punched forth with all his might, the lion head shot forth, gradually gaining in size and speed until it finally smashed into the wall of ungodly terror.

The two immediately detonated into a massive explosion that could be seen clearly from anywhere in Seireitei and even some places in Rukongai.

Kuroda raised his hand to protect himself from the streams smoke that stung his eyes.

His cloak flapped violently behind him as the shockwave created by the explosion sent gusts of wind through the streets.

Rajin suddenly burst out from the smoke, his remaining lion head on his left hand.

Kuroda saw this and quickly raised his sword to defend; Rajin lashed out with his left hand and smashed the lion's head into AnShen's blade.

The lion head detonated.

Kuroda was sent tumbling across the ground, when he finally managed to stop himself he felt a small trickle of blood run down his forehead.

"Not bad," he muttered as he pushed himself back up,

The smoke that filled the air was suddenly brushed away by a powerful gust of wind; Kuroda looked to see Kaito waving his hammer around again.

"I see you," whispered the 3rd seat, with a heave of his shoulders tossed his hammer at his opponent, the heavy weapon flew true to its target. Kuroda would have had his head taken off had he not raised AnShen in time to block the blow.

Even so, he was forced to struggle with the heavy strike with all his strength. Their battle sent him skidding across the pavement, leaving deep marks where his feet were dragged.

As soon as they came to a stop, he pushed back and sent the hammer flying back. Kaito snatched it out of the air and attacked Kuroda with all his full force.

The two exchanged quick blows, neither able to badly damage the other. The fight became even more chaotic when Rajin suddenly joined in the melee.

Now Kuroda was stuck fighting two enemies at once, yet he showed no signs of fear, he simply fought on.

"Take this!" shouted Kaito,

The man swung his hammer again and again, each time he swung he seemed to gain more speed. In a sudden gust of wind, Kaito's attacks became a vicious tornado. His hammer began to beat against AnShen like a storm of hail.

'He's not even using commands,' thought Kuroda as he continued to parry, 'he's so in tune with his zanpaktou, he can issue it commands without even speaking!'

Kaito's speed had finally reach its height, with one final strike he sent Kuroda flying back straight into a wall, burying him under a pile of rubble.

Rajin stepped in to finish the job; he drew back his right katar and pumped it forward, sending a powerful bolt of lightning racing towards their helpless opponent.

The bolt connected and exploded.

But just to be sure, Rajin kept shooting; kept sending those deadly bolts at the same spot, unwilling to believe that they'd killed Kuroda just yet.

Finally, after sending numerous bolts of lightning into the target, Rajin stopped. His breath, heavy from the drain that his power had took from him.

Ten seconds passed, and nothing happened. Another ten seconds and still nothing; a full minute passed and still nothing.

The two shinigami began to think that they really had succeeded in bringing down the legend. Soon the smoke had cleared from the wall that they'd assumed Kuroda had been in, now they saw that they'd hit,

absolutely nothing.

"That was a very good try,"

Both shinigami's eyes widened,

"But I can't die just yet,"

Rajin felt a chill run down his spine as AnShen's tip came in the corner of his vision.

Kuroda raised AnShen above his head,

"Ru-!"

And brought it crashing into the ground, a geyser of rubble shot into the air from that single swing, no normal shinigami under the rank of a captain could have survived such an attack. But Rajin and Kaito were not normal.

A few moments after the attack, both of them came bursting out of the geyser, both still intact but not unharmed.

Kaito had taken the most damage, the entire top part of his uniform had been torn apart, he was bleeding badly in his right shoulder and his body was covered in numerous minor wounds.

"Idiot, shouldn't have pushed me!" scolded Rajin, who'd taken much fewer wounds.

A good portion of the top left half of his uniform was gone and his cloak had been shredded into pieces. But other than the wound on his ribcage, he was relatively fine.

"I'm fine man, just give me a moment," he said stubbornly,

The man winced in pain as he tried to push himself back up into a fighting stance but failed and only succeeded in falling back to his knees.

"Kaito!" Rajin rushed to the side of his wounded comrade,

"I said I'm fine," shouted Kaito as he pushed the Lieutenant away, then with a deep breath, he finally pushed himself back up, "I'm not dying just yet."

The two were interrupted by the sound of a sharp whistle; the two saw that the source was Kuroda, his sword resting casually on his shoulder, waving to them out of impatience.

"Alright," whispered Rajin, "we've got to play this carefully, I'll head in first, then-"

"Fine," interrupted Kaito, "but like it or not, I'm going to use, that move."

"What? You can't do-"

"I can and I will," replied Kaito as he stood up confidently, "if you've got a complaint about it, leave it for the end of the battle."

Seeing that he could in no way stop his friend, Rajin gave a nod, and stepped back from the front line.

'What's he gonna do?' Kuroda asked himself as he watched Kaito step up to challenge him,

"You okay Kaito? That wound looks pretty bad, you should get someone to check it," said Kuroda,

"I'm fine," replied Kaito, though he was obviously not, "besides, I've been looking for an excuse to use this move for a while now. It'd be a shame if I missed the opportunity just because I passed out from blood loss."

'Alright,' Kaito thought to himself, taking a deep calming breath, 'here goes.'

The 3rd seat raised Gaikotsu to eye level, for a brief moment he simply stared at his zanpaktou.

A thin smile cracked on his lips as he remembered the fond memories he'd had with this weapon.

_Flash Back_

"_Ugh, this is so boring," muttered a brown haired boy,_

"_Quiet," said a blond haired boy with glasses, "if you're too loud, the teacher will punish you again."_

"_Why do I care, I get all of this crap about the Spirit king and stuff, I just joined because being a Shinigami means I get to paid to kill stuff."_

"_That's not what being a Shinigami is about," said the blond boy,_

"_It is for me," the brown haired boy replied nonchalantly,_

"_Kaito, Rajin!" the teacher shouted, "is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?"_

"_Uh, no sir, please continue," Rajin quickly replied,_

"_Don't make me stop my lecture again," warned the old man, "now-"_

"_Kaito please, at least try to study," pleaded Rajin,_

"_Why should I?" asked Kaito as he leaned back in his chair, "I'll just show them that I'm good at fighting, and I'll get in."_

"_But-"_

"_Isn't that right Kuroda…Kuroda?"_

_The two boys looked over to their left to see Kuroda wasn't even paying attention to them; he was too busy being immersed in the teacher's lecture. His pencil never stopped as it jot down note after note from the teacher's words._

"_Hey, Kuroda," said Kaito as he tugged on the other boy's sleeve, "why are you bothering with that crap?"_

"_Huh?"_

"_Don't 'huh' me, you're a great fighter. Just show them that and you're definitely going to get in," explained Kaito,_

"_I don't just want to be a Shinigami," answered Kuroda,_

_It was Kaito's turn to ask, "Huh?"_

"_I want to go farther than that," he continued, "I want to work my way through the ranks of the Shinigami. I want to someday be in charge of the decisions made. To be the Captain Commander, so that I can change Soul Society for the better."_

"_Like how?" asked Rajin,_

"_I want to help the people of Rukongai, so that they need not live the way that they do anymore, especially those in the lower districts."_

"_Don't you remember what it was like for us in district #79 and #78? Every day was a battle, a struggle, simply to survive. We three were lucky to be born with the skills needed to live, we were lucky to be born murders."_

"_That's a bit much isn't it?" asked Kaito,_

"_Not at all, we were what we were. I killed so many other children for the right to live, I remember slitting the throat of a boy that was my senior, just for a loaf of bread. Life should not be that way. I cannot believe that whoever created us, ruled that life should be like this. Life was meant to be enjoyed. The only way I can make sure that someone like us is never needed in order to survive, is to change life. I can't do that, if I satisfied with simply being a shinigami, I must aim higher."_

_With that said, Kuroda turned back to his notes, once again immersed in the teacher's lecture._

_Kaito turned to Rajin and saw that the blond haired boy had also resumed taking notes._

_With a resigned sight, Kaito stole a piece of paper from Rajin, took out his pencil, and started writing._

_!()#*%&!_#(*%&!)(#_&%_#%!_!(!#%*_)_

_It was time for Kaito's favorite class: Zanjutsu._

_And today, Kaito was having a day._

_With a savage battle cry he swung his bokken at his opponent, his attack contained such power that his opponent's bokken broke upon contact as was sent flying back a good ten feet before landing on his tail bone._

"_Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" complained his opponent,_

"_Tch, so weak," muttered Kaito, "whose next?"_

_A murmur broke out among his fellow students, as everyone looked around to see if anyone was mad enough to step up._

"_Come on! Rajin said he wouldn't duel me until I beat at least twenty other people! Someone get up here so that I can kick their butt!"_

"_How about me?"_

_Kaito turned around to see a blonde haired student take up his own bokken and step onto the mat._

"_Kisuke?" Kaito murmured out of surprise, "Well, I haven't fought you yet, so this is a good time to start."_

"_Yeah, please don't hold back, okay?"_

"_Don't need to worry about that blondie."_

_The two students bowed to each other and took up their stances. Kaito was the first to move, he rushed forward, bokken raised and ready to deliver some serious punishment._

_Except when he swung the wooden sword, his target wasn't there. He had just a moment to realize that Kisuke had sidestepped in the last possible moment and switched his sword to a lower guard._

_He knew that Kisuke had switched to a lower guard because a second later, Kisuke's bokken caught him on the chin, full force._

_The blow lifted him straight off his feet and onto his back._

"_Ow," he muttured before pushing himself back up,_

"_Ugh, lucky shot," he spat, "now it's round two!"_

_Kaito again started off first, though this time more carefully. He sent a flurry of well-placed strikes at Kisuke and though they were all parried, he succeeded in putting his opponent on the defensive. Now he just needed to-_

_Kisuke suddenly dropped low and swept his bokken into the back of Kaito's knee, sending him flying off balance and falling flat on his back, again._

"_Ugh," groaned Kaito,_

_A few seconds later, he quietly brooded in a corner, very angry that he'd been beaten by that blonde haired nerd._

_A cry of pain suddenly interrupted his thoughts; he turned around to see Kisuke on the floor with Kuroda standing over him, bokken in hand._

"_Ow," complained Kisuke, rubbing his shoulder, "you didn't have to hit me so hard."_

"_Get over it," ordered Kuroda as he stretched out a hand, which Kisuke appreciatively took, "you think an enemy in a real fight is going to stop just because you're hurt?"_

"_I guess you're right," chuckled Kisuke as he bashfully rubbed the back of his head._

"_Kuroda beat that guy in like 2 minutes," whispered Kaito, "argh! I've got to get stronger!"_

_Few years later_

"_Kaito, could you please demonstrate your zanpaktou's abilities?" asked a teacher,_

"_Sure thing," he replied,_

"_**Smash their bones: Gaikotsu"**_

_Kaito's zanpaktou immediately transformed into the bone crushing hammer it was meant to become. Kaito gave it a few practice swings before giving it a full powered attack that sent powerful gusts of wind racing through the streets. Next he smashed the hammer into the ground and commanded a few sharp spikes to shoot up from the ground, though back then, they weren't nearly as large as they were now._

"_Amazing," said one of the teachers,_

"_Incredible, it's unlike anything I've ever seen before," said another,_

"_This will go down in history!"_

"_Uh, what did I do?" asked Kaito, completely confused,_

"_Kaito, I don't know if you know this, but your zanpaktou is very special. In the entire history of our organization, we've never encountered anything like it."_

"_Seriously? What makes it so special?"_

"_That's hurtful, I think I'm going to cry" said Gaikotsu,_

'_Shut up,' replied Kaito,_

"_What makes it special is it's mastery over both air and earth. Never before has there been a zanpaktou that has been a dual elemental."_

_!(#*%!)(#*%&)(*#%&)!(*&%)(*!%)#(*&)_

_Years later, Kaito achieved the rank of 4__th__ seat in the 11__th__ division._

"_WHAT!" screamed Kaito, "KURODA'S ALREADY A CAPTAIN!"_

"_Yeah," replied Kisuke as he took a quick sip of his sake, "he took the test a couple of days ago and just got the responses yesterday."_

"_God damn it!" Kaito cried loudly "first Rajin becomes a lieutenant and now this. Why can't I keep up?"_

"_Don't let it get to you," said Kisuke, "I'm sure you'll catch up soon enough."_

"_There is no soon enough," shouted Kaito, getting up in Kisuke's face, "do you hear me? There is no soon enough, it has to be right now! RIGHT NOW!"_

"_Uh…okay," replied Kisuke with a nervous smile, "just calm down, okay?"_

"_Yeah whatever," said Kaito as he slouched back into his chair._

_After he downed another cup of sake, he noticed someone approaching their table._

"_Are you Kaito Shibata? The 4__th__ seat of Squad 11?" asked a hooded Shinigami,_

"_Yeah," he replied, "what do you want? An autograph?_

"_My Captain wishes to see you," answered the hooded Shinigami, "please follow me."_

"_Oh, and which Captain would that be?"_

"_Captain Kuroda Ryou,"_

_$(*()$&*)($*&()$*)_

"_Huh? What do you mean you're not really a captain?" asked Kaito, practically jumping out of his chair,_

"_Settle down Kaito," ordered Kuroda, "I'll explain it to you."_

_Kaito, knowing that Kuroda would stay true to his word, complied and tried his best to calm himself down._

"_Have indeed been promoted, but no one really knows about it," Kuroda started, "I guess getting to where I am is sort of like becoming Captain."_

"_What do ya mean?"_

"_Kaito," said Kuroda, a somber look dawned on his face and his eyes seemed to drop to the ground. He looked like a man who'd done something horrible._

"_Hey, are you okay?" asked Kaito out of genuine concern,_

_Kuroda simply nodded._

"_Kaito, I've been promoted to the Lieutenant of the Black operations squad," Kuroda finally said, though each word seemed to sting his very soul._

"_Black operations? You mean the 2__nd__ division?"_

"_No, this is different," answered Kuroda, taking his own seat now, "I can understand that you haven't heard of it. No one except those in the rank of Captain know of the squads existence, it's a real shady part of our corps. Only those selected by the Head of the squad can enter in, not even the Captain Commander has authority in there."_

"_Whoa, so you're part of this thing now?"_

"_Yeah, don't tell anyone else," warned Kuroda, "Only you, Rajin, Kisuke, and Yoruichi know."_

"_Gotch ya, but wait, why did you say it's like being a Captain if you're just a lieutenant," asked Kaito suspiciously,_

"_Gee thanks, that makes me feel better," chuckled Kuroda,_

"_You know what I mean," Kaito shot back._

"_I guess it's because only those with the potential to be a Captain are even considered for a position in the squad. So being a Lieutenant in this squad is pretty much right up there with being a Captain, weird huh?"_

"_But…"_

"_Yeah I know, the squad just calls me a Captain as cover or something, at least until we can figure out a way to erase me of the board."_

"_So, what's the top guy called?"_

"_The Commander."_

_Few more years_

"_You think I should join the squad?" asked a bewildered Kaito,_

"_My boss think's so and so do I," replied Kuroda, "heck even Rajin thinks you should."_

"_I don't know," answered Kaito with an ambivalent tone, "I kind of like the 11__th__ division."_

"_Do you want to be stuck as a 4__th__ seat forever?" asked Kuroda,_

"_Hey, I'm getting close to beating the 3__rd__ seat," he pointed out,_

"_Please you could beat that idiot with your hands tied behind your back," scoffed Kuroda,_

"_Shhhh, don't say that so loud," whispered Kaito,_

"_Alright, sit back down, jeez."_

"_So say I do want to get into the squad, what do I have to do?" asked Kaito,_

"_Attain Bankai in one week," replied Kuroda,_

_Kaito raised his eyebrow skeptically, as if expecting Kuroda to say, "just kidding."_

"_Okay…what's the catch?" asked Kaito,_

"_You get entered into a world of cloaks and daggers, where only the strongest are allowed to survive."_

"_Sounds like home," smirked Kaito,_

_Kuroda stood up from his chair and said, "Tell me your answer tomorrow; I'll wait for you here."_

_Kaito watched as his friend began to walk away,_

"_Hey Kuroda," he called out, Kuroda turned back for a moment, "is it really worth it?"_

_Kuroda simply nodded._

_A few hours later, Kaito found himself in a large open field. His Gaikostu placed in his lap. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and let himself drift into his inner world._

_&*$%^)*(%&!#)(*!)#%*&!)#*%(&!)%*!()#)_

"_So, what do you think?" asked Kaito,_

_He'd just activated his bankai and completely decimated the surrounding area with a few demonstrations. He was incredibly tired after doing so, but did a good job in not showing that, instead he simply smiled his psychopathic grin and leaned against a tree._

"_That was pretty impressive," admitted Kuroda before turning around to leave, "welcome to Black ops."_

_Kaito for some reason, could not help but feel giddy with joy. So happy was he that he forgot how tired he was and leaped into the air, smiling a smile that just wouldn't go away._

"_Hey, catch up!" called Kuroda,_

_Kaito practically flew over to the Lieutenant, his boundless joy giving him the needed energy to keep up._

"_I told you I'd get in," said Kaito when he caught up with his friend,_

"_Yeah" smiled Kuroda," you did."_

"_HAHA! I made it!" he screamed, in his mind he said, 'I'm glad I made you proud.'_

End of Flash Back

'I've always been behind you Kuroda, I've always been chasing your back,' Kaito thought to himself, 'But in truth, I didn't mind. I always felt happier following your lead or looking up at you, like a little brother really. It was thanks to you, I didn't end up in some ditch, dying from hunger. It was thanks to you I didn't end up some no name shinigami. It was thanks to you, that I unlocked my true potential. The only way for me to really thank you, is to show you that your efforts were not wasted.'

With that last thought in mind, Kaito raised Gaikotsu and uttered the command words,

"**Gufuu Ryuu gekido"**

The air around them began to pick up into giant gusts, as though it had a mind of its own, it began circling around the three combatants like a flock of hungry vultures.

Rock, pavement and rubble were all swept up by the wind, sucked in by this massive vacuum that Kaito had created.

The tunnel began to rotate faster and faster and faster, until finally, the wind had clearly formed into a massive tornado.

Kuroda felt his feet leave the ground as the wind slowly grabbed him and lifted him into the air. Across the tornado, Kaito and Rajin had similarly been picked up.

Now all three of them were floating at least thirty feet in the air, but none of them showed even the slightest hint of fear.

"This is new," commented Kuroda, experimentally he tried throwing his weight to the left. The sudden shift in his balance caused him to float to the left of the tornado; he rebalanced himself and immediately stopped, "I can barely control myself here."

Kaito swung Gaikotsu in a wide arc, the wind obeyed his command and Kuroda was suddenly caught by the tornado and sent spiraling around towards Rajin.

Rajin raised his katar to face his incoming opponent.

The two clashed in a vibrant display of sparks as Kuroda practically collided with Rajin, sending them both spiral out of control but still locked in combat.

Kuroda swung AnShen out at Rajin but the lieutenant blocked the attack, however the force of the attack sent both him and Kuroda spiraling to opposite sides of the tornado.

Kaito looked on with an amused smile, "nice try commander."

Kuroda quickly rebalanced himself, he was just about to try for another sweep when an gust of wind suddenly sent him spiraling out of control. Someone's hand shot out and grabbed him by the back of his cloak and pulled.

He turned around and raised his hand just in time to catch Kaito by the hand as he brought down Gaikotsu for a skull smashing swing.

"By now you must have realized," said Kaito, his eyes calm and full of killer intent, "that only I can truly move in this tornado."

There was a brief pause before Kuroda finally said,

"Well, crap."

With a sudden burst of reiatsu, Kaito ordered the wind to break their struggle. Then with a swing of his hammer, the wind grabbed Kuroda and sent him spiraling down towards the ground.

"Shit," he spat as he saw the ground suddenly jump up to meet him.

His had shot out and stopped his face from smashing into the floor, his victory was short lived however, as Rajin suddenly appeared out of nowhere and shot a volley of lightning bolts at him.

Kuroda quickly rolled himself out of the way, though his cloak took a good singeing he emerged unharmed.

Again, the victory was short lived.

Using his zanpaktou's powers, Kaito became like a living bullet and shot down from above. Kuroda shunpo'd away just as Kaito swung his hammer.

Kuroda was glad he'd avoided that shot, as it had caused an incredibly deep crater.

Rajin suddenly appeared in front of him with his katar drawn back, blue reiatsu oozing out of them.

"**Raikou Raion!"**

"**Shibou Ryuu!"**

Twin lion head clashed with a red missile as the two shinigami fired their respective attacks. The two met at the center of the maelstrom and immediately erupted into flames.

Thankfully the smoke was quickly funneled out by Kaito's tornado but Kuroda and Rajin had both been thrown out of control and were bouncing through the tornado like a pair of pin balls.

Kaito commanded the wind and Rajin was quickly snatched out of the air and put in the upright position.

He then commanded it again, this time grabbing Kuroda and having it smash the former Commander into the ground several times before relinquishing his grasp.

"Ow," muttered Kuroda as he pushed himself out of the rubble.

"Rajin, are you alright?" asked Kaito,

"Yeah, I'm fine," replied the blond haired man, "what about you, how you holding up?"

Kaito rubbed his wound and winced in pain, "I've been better but I've also had worse."

"Let's finished this quickly then get you the 4th division," decided Rajin,

Kaito took a string of deep breaths, then said, "alright, let's use the thousand wasps"

Rajin nodded, by now Kuroda had dug himself out of the rubble he'd been lying in. Though a bit disorientated and bleeding on his forehead; he was for the most part, remarkably unharmed.

"I hate this battlefield," muttered Kuroda, "I can't do anything right on it."

Just as he had prepared himself for his next clash, the wind suddenly scooped him back off the ground and centered him in the middle of the tornado, between Kaito and Rajin.

Obviously they were planning something sneaky.

"This is a very interesting technique Kaito, when did you learn it?" Kuroda asked casually,

"A while after you left Soul Society," replied Kaito, "actually, until now I haven't used it outside of sparring with Rajin. Must work pretty well if it works on you."

"I'll say," commented Kuroda, "I'd even go as far to say that you might be able to challenge Rajin for the seat of Lieutenant."

"Pft," scoffed Rajin,

"Well, I don't know about that," said Kaito, "but if you think that this was impressive, just wait till you see this next move."

"More importantly, let's see if you can survive," added Rajin,

Kaito raised Gaikotsu and swung it in large circles above his head, as he did, Kuroda noticed the tornado becoming faster and faster with each consecutive circle. But oddly enough, it wasn't Kuroda who was being swept into its current, it was Rajin.

The Lieutenant had been grabbed by a pair of invisible hands and dragged into the walls of the tornado, sending him spinning around and around and around.

Kuroda almost couldn't keep up with him he was moving so fast, Rajin suddenly shot a bolt of lightning from his zanpaktou.

Kuroda quickly batted it away with AnShen, only for another to come at him from his right. He smashed it away just as quickly but yet another came at him, this one from behind. Then another and another and another, until finally he was under a constant barrage of deadly lightning bolts.

His arms never stopped moving, each moment was spent trying to defend himself against Rajin's constant barrage. So far he'd been able to smack each of the bolts away but they were getting ever so closer each time and Rajin's tempo was gradually getting faster and faster.

In short, he couldn't keep this up forever and they all knew it.

Both Rajin and Kaito were amazed that he'd lasted this long to begin with, then again, they should have known better.

From his view point high above the battle, Kaito watched as Rajin continuously pummeled Kuroda's defenses with his Denko Te. It was truly an amazing sight, like a thousand arcs of electricity jumping from one piece of metal to another.

Some might even describe it as the largest light show ever to be shown, it was equally impressive. Even after seeing many times, Kaito was still amazed by the sheer amount of lightning bolts that Rajin could throw.

That was why he'd dubbed this move, Thousand Wasps, because of the hundreds upon hundreds of attacks that would come out of nowhere from all angles. Just like a thousand wasps, he doubted even Kuroda would last long, especially since he was about to speed things up.

!(*%#&)*(#&%!*()#&%(!))!(#*%&!)(*#%&)

Kuroda was starting to feel a bit crowded in this tornado, not because of the other people but because the tornado was getting smaller! Just a few moments ago, Kaito and ordered the Tornado to gradually close in on him, making it all the much harder for him to block the volley of lightning bolts Rajin kept shooting at him.

He had to turn this around, fast!

The black haired man just started coming up with a plan as he swatted away another lighting bolt when he felt something ram into his side, followed by a swift stab of pain, he'd been hit. Out of the corner of his eye he saw another bolt, he quickly smacked it away but felt another bolt hit him in the back.

"It's all over," whispered Rajin,

Pumping the rest of his reiatsu into Denko Te and with some added speed from Kaito, he unleashed a furious, massive, unending barrage of deadly lightning bolts at the man in the middle of the Tornado. Each one flew true to its target.

There was an explosion of the brightest blue in the world and it was all over. Smoke cloaked whatever remained of Kuroda but both shinigami knew, not even Kuroda could have survived that.

Both of them felt a small pang of sadness with the knowing that they'd just killed the man who'd been like a brother to them.

Rajin and Kaito closed their eyes in a silent respect to the dead.

"**That**, was a very good try,"

Both men's eyes shot open.

"But like I said before, I can't die just yet,"

"No way," whispered Rajin,

The smoke cleared and the two saw how there friend had survived.

Surrounding him were dozens of what looked like sword cuts; except these sword cuts had left their mark on the very air around them and lingered on in the color of Kuroda's blood red reiatsu. The cuts circled around Kuroda in the form of that was akin to an orb.

Then the two noticed a sound, one like the wailing of those sentenced to burn in the eternal fires of hell. The wails that could only be made by those that felt true misery. The wails that one made as they died. It was a horrifying sound, one that both wished they could shut out of their ears but knew that even if they did, the sound had already made its mark in their mind.

"This is one of the last techniques that AnShen taught me," said Kuroda, "it's called: **Shino Tama**"

"You most likely never saw this technique, because up until now I've never really needed it. I was always able to get by on using Shino Kabe and Shibou Ryuu, as for defense, I could always block or parry. But, you guys were just a bit too much. Congratulations."

The two looked on, absolutely speechless and unable to respond. That had been what they believed to be their trump card, now, they had nothing left up their sleeves.

Without thinking, Rajin fired of a dozen blasts from his Denko Te, each smashed against the protective orb of sword cuts, but none of them penetrated.

Suddenly, one of the sword cuts quite revolving around Kuroda. Without warning it shot itself at Rajin with ungodly amounts of speed.

As if flew, the sword cut quickly expanded until it was large enough to completely envelop Rajin in a blast of red reiatsu.

The Lieutenant cried out in pain as he the attack made contact with him. The sword cut detonated upon impact and caused smoke to rise from the aftermath.

"Rajin!" screamed Kaito,

Even from the distance away that he had been at, Kaito had felt the amount of power that attack had carried. The amount of dark reiatsu concentrated into that single attack was enough to make his skin crawl.

The smoke dissipated.

Rajin emerged, not dead, but definitely near it.

The entire upper part of his uniform had been simply ripped from existence. His torso was badly burned and bleeding in several different places, blood practically seeped from his forehead, and his right arm hung limply at his side, damaged to the point that it was too painful to move it anymore.

"God damn it," cursed Rajin, "what kind of technique is that."

"Shino Tama works much like my other two techniques," explained Kuroda, "as I swing my blade, I pour my reiatsu into it, giving it amplified swings that cause massive damage. But with Shin Tama, the swings are used for a defensive purpose just as much as they are used for an offensive purpose. Each swing I make with my sword, leaves a trail to defend me, the more I swing my sword, the more there are. In a way, it's like a platoon of miniature Kabe's."

"You had that this entire time and never used it?" Rajin asked weakly,

"I did," admitted Kuroda, "but I wanted to see if you could push me to use it. You did."

"Damn it," cursed Rajin, "still so far."

"You've obviously felt the effects of just one of the strikes," observed Kuroda, "let try the rest."

Kaito's eyes widened with fear as he realized what was to come. Without hesitation he ran to Rajin's side and quickly called to Gaikotsu.

Without warning, every swing that Kuroda had made unleashed itself. The tornado simply ceased to vanish as the unstoppable barrage tore through it.

So much smoke filled the air at that single moment that some might have thought that Seireitei was on fire. Kuroda swiftly sent it away with a quick burst of his reiatsu.

He emerged unharmed by the resulting explosions of his attack, though the same could not be said for the other two.

Kaito had tried to protect him and Rajin to the best of his abilities, using Gaikotsu he summoned a multilayered stone wall filled with the hardest minerals he could conjure up. But it hadn't been enough; the blades of Kuroda's attack had smashed through the walls as if they were made of wood.

Rajin had fallen unconscious from all the blood he'd lost and now Kaito was bleeding in more places then he cared to count.

The two had to face facts, they'd lost.

With a single move, he'd beaten them.

"You two look like crap,"

Kaito looked up to see Kuroda standing over them, sword resting on his shoulder tough all killer intent had left his eyes.

"Being attacked by you does that to people," Kaito muttered,

"People keep telling me that for some reason," joked Kuroda, "you two, have become so much stronger since we last met."

Kaito smirked at the compliment, "well, it hasn't been easy but we did our best."

"I'm glad," said Kuroda, he was about to continue when something caught his attention. He felt a presence coming towards them, it took him a moment, but he soon recognized it, "I have go now"

"I…understand," replied Kaito,

"Don't let Rajin die," said Kuroda as he began to move away, "I'll see you two later."

"Commander!" Kaito called out, Kuroda stopped and turned back to face his friend, "before you go, I have to ask you something."

Kuroda gave a nod,

"Why are you here? What's your mission?"

"Mission, heh, there's no mission Kaito, there's no goal, no overarching plot. I'm just here, trying to help out a friend," answered Kuroda, with that said, he disappeared.

Kaito pondered those words for a brief moment before turning his attention back to his injured friend.

"Hey, Rajin, you okay?" he asked, giving the blond haired man a light slap on the cheek.

"I don't suggest doing that Kaito," said a sweet voice from behind the smoke,

Kaito looked up to see Captain Unohana of the 4th division walking towards them, a soft yet charming smile on her face.

"Captain Unohana," he said, standing up to greet her, "I was just about to carry him over to your division, but I guess that isn't necessary anymore."

"Well let's see what the damage is first," she pointed out before kneeling down to examine Rajin, after a brief study of his wounds she deemed that she could treat the lieutenant's wounds on the spot. She whispered a simple command phrase and began healing the blond man with a soft green glowing kido.

"Will he be alright?" asked Kaito,

"Absolutely," she answered happily, "the wounds are bad, but with the right medical treatment, it will be like he never had them. His arm may take a little more work however; the bones have been cracked in several places, so we'll still need to move him to the 4th division barracks for a cast.

"I see, that's good," with a sigh of relief, he sprawled himself out on the ground, finally able to relax without worry of his friend dying.

"You should get yourself to the 4th division barracks," suggested Unohana, "those wounds of yours are pretty bad."

"Uh, no, that's alright," said Kaito, "actually, they aren't all that deep and-"

"Kaito,"

"Huh?"

"Go to the 4th division barracks," she ordered sweetly, though something about her just seemed so…scary.

It was enough to cause even Kaito to feel a small chill go down his spine.

"Uh…yes, of course ma'am, whatever you say."

"Besides, Isane's been waiting to see you again, she didn't get a proper introduction the last time you were in need of medical attention," added Unohana,

"Isane? Hmm…Oh! You mean that pretty grey haired lieutenant?" he realized, "Yes! I get to see her again!"

He quickly pushed himself up, dusted himself off, and started running as fast as he possibly could towards the 4th division barracks.

"Ah, young love," smiled Unohana,

&*(#!)%*&!)*%&)*(%&!)(*&!#%)(*%&#)

"Well it's nice to know those two haven't slacked off while I've been gone," Kuroda said to himself as he sat atop a roof.

"Now, what to do next?" he wondered, "I should probably go find the others, regroup before things get too out of hand. Then find a place to rest and plan, get things sorted out hopefully."

A full minute passed before he finally asked himself, "I wonder how Yoruichi is doing?"

"_You like her" teased AnShen_

'Don't make me throw you into a bucket of water,' Kuroda thought back,

His thoughts were soon interrupted by the light jingle of what he believed to be a bell. His hand immediately reached for AnShen, his senses all came on high alert. Behind him, on the roof, light footsteps could be heard.

"Oi, are you the ryoka?" asked a rough voice,

"I am," said Kuroda without turning around, "who are you?"

"Zaraki Kenpachi."

!(#&*%^*()#&%!)#*(&%!#&*()%^)*(#&)(!*#%&)!

It was a full ten minutes before Yoruichi finally caught up with Kuroda. Though when she got there, he wasn't doing what she thought he'd be doing.

She jumped onto the roof that she was sensing his reiatsu signal from, of course when she landed, she expected to see Kuroda, not the pink haired little girl who was currently staring at her in amazement.

"Huh? Kitty!" screamed the little girl as she ran over to grab Yoruichi,

"Ah!" screamed Yoruichi as she scrambled away from the girl,

The two began running around and around and around in circles. It would be hilarious from anyone's standpoint except for Yoruichi, who was currently trying to save herself.

What was even funnier, was when the little girl actually caught Yoruichi, ya wanna know how?

Well, Yoruichi in cat form cannot move as fast as she can in human form.

So, all the little girl had to do was use Shunpo, get in front of Yoruichi, and glomp her. Yeah.

"Ahhh, let me go!" screamed Yoruichi,

"Kitty!" screeched the little girl, "it's sooooooooo fluffy!"

"AHHHHHH!"

"Yachiru," shouted a voice, "what the heck are you doing over there?"

"Hugging a kitty!" she screamed,

"Kitty?" said another voice,

Yoruichi heard a shuffle of feet and clothing, though she was unable to see who it was because the little girl was restricting her.

"Yoruichi?"

The girl shifted her enough so that Yoruichi was able to see who was talking. She looked up to see none other than Kuroda, flanked by a tall muscular looking man with tall spike hair, and ragged clothing. She guessed that this was probably the Captain of the 11th division.

"Kuroda! Help me! Hurry! She's strangling me!" Yoruichi pleaded,

"You know that cat?" asked the big man,

"Uh, yeah, she's my friend," replied Kuroda,

"Hmm, Yachiru, stop squeezing the cat," ordered the tall shinigami,

"Aw, fine," pouted Yachiru, releasing her grip on the feline, who quickly scrambled away from the girl and jumped on Kuroda's shoulder.

Gasping heavily, Yoruichi managed to say, "Thanks Kuroda,"

"Hold that thought for a moment," said Kuroda as he turned to the tall shinigami, "do we have a deal Kenpachi?"

"Yeah, sure," replied Kenpachi, though he didn't seemed to thrilled with agreeing, "come on Yachiru, we gotta go."

"Aye aye sir!" she yelled as she hopped on his shoulder, as they left she waved back at them and said, "bye Kuku! Bye Kitty!"

As soon as the two were out of sight, Yoruichi asked, "what was that about?"

"Nothing, I just made a deal with the Kenpachi, that's all,"

"What was the deal?" she asked,

"I asked him to go fight Ichigo," he replied nonchalantly,

"WHAT! ARE YOU INSANE?" she screamed,

"Don't worry, I told him not to kill Ichigo," said Kuroda, as though that solved everything.

"What makes you think he'll comply!"

"I said if he kills Ichigo, I won't fight him, and that's all he really wants. To fight me."

"Still, sending the Kenpachi of Seireitei after Ichigo…what are you trying to do?"

At first, Kuroda didn't respond. As he himself wasn't sure why he'd done what he'd just done. Ichigo wasn't ready to fight someone of Kenpachi's strength; Kuroda felt it from their brief exchange, at full strength, that man would splatter Ichigo's guts all over Soul Society.

But, one reason seemed to make him dismiss all that.

"Ichigo needs to get stronger," he finally answered,

"What?"

"You heard me," firmly answered, "You and I both know that this conflict stretches well beyond Rukia's execution. What is to come will be marked as one of the greatest conflicts in history and Ichigo will be a key player."

"He's a special boy. A single month and already he is stronger than most shinigami in Soul Society. He'll get involved into our problems whether we like it or not, because that's just the kind of person he is. These next few battles against soul society, will be instrumental in shaping him."

"He needs to rescue Rukia Kuchiki, but to do that he must face the Captains of Soul Society. He must believe that he can defeat the best that they have to offer. I asked Kenpachi to fight him and lose, because I want to push Ichigo further and at the same time, make him believe he can win."

"But it's false hope," Yoruichi pointed out, "if he passes your test and defeats Kenpachi in a fake fight, he won't really have gotten stronger."

"Weren't you listening?" asked Kuroda, "this is a test, to push Ichigo forward. Kenpachi will push him to his limits. Psychologically and physically, of that I have no doubt. Besides, sometimes a false hope is what's really needed. It's a horrible thing to say, but the truth is rarely something we want to hear."

Yoruichi could not help buy chuckle at the way Kuroda was presenting himself, he sounded like some evil master mind, bent on controlling everything to fit his designs.

"My, you are quite the character aren't you," she said jokingly,

"Your one to talk,"

**End**

**A/N**

**That admittedly took me a while to finish. Okay, a few announcements.**

**One, school is starting soon for me, so my updates will be a lot slower. I'm sorry, but that's just how the stone rolls down the hill…what does that even mean?**

**Anyway, I'd like to ask you, the reader, if there are any stories that you can recommend for me to read. Because lately the stories that I wait for have been pretty slow and I'm getting bored with nothing to read, so if there are any stories you can suggest, just message me.**

**I enjoy a variety of stories, I usually prefer stories that focus on OC's because it usually means that the author has given the story some thought.**

**I'd also like to announce some plans for the future.**

**You all know Tatsuki right? Black hair tom boy, girl, Orihime's best friend? Yeah, good character. I felt that she was somewhat under used in actual Bleach. So I thought to myself, why not give her a bigger role in my story? So I thought, maybe I should give her some sort of cool power, like Chad and Orihime have. So, I wanted to know what you guys think, do you think I should do it or not? Go ahead and tell me in my messages.**

**What else?**

**Oh yes, I guess I should explain what happened in the end there. Well, remember how later, Kenpachi destroys the Quinto Espada, Nnoitora? Remember also how Ichigo had to go all out, Bankai, Hollow mask, everything on Grimmjow, the Sexta Espada? Well, to me it just doesn't make sense that Ichigo beat Kenpachi with just his Shikai in this arc, and then was totally upstaged by Kenpachi in a later arc. As it turns out a lot of people agree, they keep saying, "That fight was rigged."**

**So I figured, you know what, let's make it so that the fight is rigged. So that is why Kenpachi lost to Ichigo, Kuroda rigged the fight so that Ichigo could be a hero later. **

**So, yeah. That's all I really have to say.**

**Please subscribe, favorite, and comment.**

**Please tell your friends about me, if you think they'd be interested, and have a nice day.**

**Omake Time!**

**Dreamerboy84 sits at his computer, looking through entries on deviant art and being jealous for other peoples amazing ability to draw, that he does not possess. Because while he has some skill sketching, he sucks at making anime.**

**"Ugh, I am so jealous," he mutters as he scrolls through NexusYuber's page.**

"**Hey," shouts Kuroda, "what are you doing? Shouldn't you be focusing on the story or something?"**

"**Uh…"**

"**Yeah," says Gin as he comes in, "focus on my story, I want to get my comeback soon."**

"**But I-"**

"**And we want to get more air time too," says Kaito as he and Rajin walk in.**

"**Well you see-"**

"**And I want some more intimate time with Kuroda," says Yoruichi as she joins in, "I want some where romantic, like a beach, or a hill top, or heck, just put me and him naked in bed.**

**Everyone:"O.O"**

"**What? Women can like those things too," she points out,**

"**look," says Dreamerboy84, "I'm not superman or Mega mind. I need breaks and time to polish my ideas. You're all just going to have to be patient."**

"**Oh, is that so?" says Kaito, his eyes darkening,**

"**Yes, after all I do have a life beyond this," says Dreamerboy84,**

**Everyone suddenly piles out and slams the door behind them, Dreamerboy84 hears the ominous sound of a lock closing.**

"**Uh guys, you locked the door," he calls, "GUYS?"**

**And now for some education**

**Shino Tama/ Death Orb: Shino Tama is much like Kuroda's other attacks in that it is performed by pouring reiatsu into AnShen and swinging it as one normally would. Except with Shino Tama, the reiatsu released by the swing does not travel. Instead in stays in mid-air ,until mentally commanded by Kuroda to do otherwise. Kuroda uses this technique by swinging wildly around himself, creating a cage like barrier to defend against just about any attack. However, the technique can be used for offensive purposes. With a simple mental command, the reiatsu released by a sword swing can become a deadly projectile that causes massive damage. Kuroda generally uses it when he is outnumbered by multiple high level opponents.**

**In his opinion, using it on a one on one battle, unless the opponent is incredibly powerful, would be cheating on his part.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Well Hi everybody! I'm back, I guess. Sorry that I haven't updated in a long time. But you know how it is with school, homework, velociraptors for family members. It's hard. Plus I just got Gears of War 3, and it's beast by the way.**

**I'd like to thank everyone who stuck with me. Your support is appreciated. In any case, I think it's about time we started this chapter. I hope you enjoy it.**

**By the way, I still don't own Bleach.**

Chapter 15

Step 1

Seireitei looked pretty peaceful from afar, it was no wonder that people from the world of the living sometimes called this place heaven. Everything was a brilliant pure white, the sky was almost always a vivid blue, and the buildings were magnificently built.

One could even believe the illusion of peace if it weren't for the very clear sounds of metal smashing against metal.

For one person however, that sound was the exact sound that he wanted to be hearing.

Of course, for everything that someone wants, another person doesn't.

The person who didn't want it, was Ichigo, cause he was part of it. Sort of.

In truth, he was running.

He was running from a force far greater than him. Greater than anything he'd fought up until now. Greater than any hollow or Ikkaku, or even Renji. He was running, from Zaraki Kenpachi.

But hey, who could blame him?

Kuroda could.

As he watched the "fight" unfold below him from his perch on top of a tower overlooking the area. He felt a rising sense of frustration unfolding inside of him. Ichigo couldn't even lay a scratch on the guy, literally!

He'd seen Ichigo give the Captain a swing with all his strength and it had just glanced off of him. If Kenpachi had been using his full strength, or heck, if he'd been using a third of his strength, Ichigo would be an unsightly splat on the ground.

"Are you still sure about this?" asked Yoruichi at his side,

"No," he replied bluntly,

"Then maybe we should-"

"Just watch the damn fight," he interrupted,

"Alright, jeez," muttered Yoruichi,

'Come on Ichigo!' Kuroda screamed inside his head, 'you can do better than this, I know you can!'

(!*#%&^)#*(%^!#)%*!^#)%(*^!)%^*!)%*^!#)(%*^!)%(*^)

Ichigo raised Zangetsu just in time to block an overhead strike from the mad Captain. But the difference between blocking and being cut was beginning to blur.

With each strike he blocked he felt more and more and more of his strength slip away and his arms begin to strain. Not to mention, he still couldn't stop shaking.

Just being around the man was terrifying. He could shake this horrible feeling inside of him, like someone had reached into his chest and grabbed his heart then refused to let go. The blood in his veins had become ice despite the deluge of sweat running down his face.

The Captain continued to press against him, until finally Ichigo's arms gave away and he was forced to the ground but luckily managed to redirect the blow away from himself and into the ground.

Clumsily, he pushed himself up and made a run for it. Hoping to put some distance between him and that psychotic Captain before the next round.

Behind him, Kenpachi frowned.

Both Ikkaku and that other ryoka had told him that he'd enjoy this fight. So far, it was boring, the kid had impressive spiritual pressure, that much was true. But he had no strength, no power, no way to make this fight fun.

With a heavy sigh, the Captain pursued his prey.

Ichigo panted heavily as he ran through the winding alleys between the towering buildings that made up this part of Seireitei.

'I'm not afraid,' he lied to himself, 'I'M NOT AFRAID'

The wall next to him suddenly burst apart as Kenpachi smashed his way through it, sword raised and ready to kill. Ichigo quickly shuffled his feet in order to swing around the man's reach while at the same time bringing Zangetsu up to bear.

Deciding to go on the offensive, Ichigo lunge forward with a full powered swing only to be carelessly blocked by Kenpachi's sword. Ichigo felt the force of his own strike push back on him and cause him to stumble backwards a few steps.

Ignoring that he felt like he'd just tried to hit a brick wall, he attacked again, this time from the other side. Again the captain blocked the attack as though someone had just swung a newspaper at him.

Ichigo attacked again, this time at the opening the Captain had left open. But Kenpachi simply blocked the blade with four fingers and one of them was his pinky. With a snort of disgust, Kenpachi flung the boy fifteen feet away.

Ichigo managed to reposition himself in midair so that he landed on his feet, then immediately went back on the offensive.

He swung wildly with zangetsu, not caring if he hit the man or not, he just wanted him to stay away. Kenpachi for his part simply blocked with ease any swings that got close to him.

He was finding this fight highly unsatisfying. He really wished he could just kill this kid already, the only thing that was stopping him was that the other ryoka had told him that this kid was special. So far, he didn't see it.

Kenpachi decided to break the montomy of all these reckless swings, he swung his own sword with about a fifth of his regular power. The boy raised his sword in defense, but it still wasn't enough.

The strike sent Ichigo tumbling back across the floor until he finally managed to stop himself by stabbing Zangetsu into the ground.

"At least he's tenacious," whispered Kenpachi,

Ichigo quickly pushed himself up and raised Zangetsu to defend himself. The Captain came at him like a wild beast and attacked with a powerful swing.

He furrowed his eyebrows as Ichigo blocked his attack. Kenpachi could see that if he just pushed a bit harder, he could have probably snapped the boy's arms in two.

But perhaps that was what was needed to get things going.

So without very much effort, Kenpachi raised his freehand, placed it near Ichigo's side, and flicked a finger against his ribs.

The results were instantaneous.

Ichigo felt a sharp pain lance through his side as the simple touch sent him skidding across the ground at least eight feet away. As he came to a stop, he felt the pain continue to fester in his side, like someone had taken a red hot nail and imbedded it into him for all eternity.

He carefully reached down and touched the side that Kenpachi had attacked. Pain was immediate, he felt that one of his ribs had broken.

He stood, though with much effort and pain.

The Captain of the 11th squad stood far away, a bored and frustrated look on his face.

Again Ichigo chose to run, unwilling to face this opponent.

"Is running all you know how to do?" Kenpachi asked aloud as he walked after the boy.

(#**&!%()%&*!)#(*%&)*&%!)#(*%&!)(*%&#)(%*&!)#()#*(!%!)

"Kuroda, I really think we should-"

"He can handle it," interrupted Kuroda,

"You're going to get him killed," continued Yoruichi, "we have to get him out of there, or at the very least if you're going to continue with this crazy idea, offer him some words. The boy's scared out of his mind. Just look at his reiatsu."

"He needs to handle this alone," Kuroda stubbornly replied, "don't worry, he'll pull through."

'I hope he pulls through.'

!#)(%!#%&)_#%)&_)!(#%&_)!(#%_!#%)(&_#()%_!#)(%&_!#%()&_)!#(%&_!%_)

"God damn it!" screamed Ichigo, "Why!"

The image of him striking at Kenpachi played over in his head again. He remembered the weight of Zangetsu, the strength he channeled into his attack, he'd done everything right. But when his blade made contact with that "Man's" skin, nothing. Not even a sign that the skin had been touched before.

"I'm hitting him," he whispered, "but I still can't cut him! Is there really so much difference between our power?"

"God damn it!"

"Wait, I just need to calm down," he assured himself, "there's no way he can't be cut! I'm just scared of his reiatsu. If I calm down, I can sharpen my reiatsu. Just need to calm down," he said to himself,

As he continued to tell himself to calm down, he recalled the words that Zangetsu had spoken to him, "Cast off your fear. Look forward. Retreat and you will age. Hesitate and you will die."

"I can win!" he screamed,

With renewed vigor, Ichigo grabbed Zangetsu and readied himself for the next round with the Captain, when suddenly; a strange sense of foreboding suddenly pierced his soul. It was unlike when he felt Kenpachi's killer intent, which had made him feel as though he'd been run through; this was more of a sudden clenching of his heart. However, it carried the same feelings as from before, fear, pain, depression.

Finally, Ichigo recognized it.

Chad

"Chad's reiatsu…it's gone."

Ichigo's mind rushed to look for explanations; he was unconscious, laying low, in a tunnel, something! There was no way he was dead, it just couldn't happen! Chad was invincible! No one could take him down! Right?

!*()%&!#%()&_)!#(%&_)#%(&!_)%(&!##%*((#*%&#)()#*(%&)

"Damn," whispered Kuroda,

Yoruichi stared at her companion. If Kuroda felt any distress at all, he was doing a good job of hiding it. She had only discerned it from the small amount of extra breath he released, that for him would have counted as a sigh.

"Are you alright?" she asked carefully,

No response,

She took that as a sign he wanted to be left alone.

"He knew the risks," Kuroda suddenly said, "There's nothing I can do about it now. For now, let's just focus on the task at hand."

Yoruichi let that hand in the air for a moment before saying, "you don't need to always be strong you know."

"I'm not," was his only reply,

(!#%&*#%^(!*&!$^(*&%$^!&*%^*!%*!#$^*(!#)_!#$^*)(!#_)

"He's alive," Ichigo realized,

He had waited in silent anguish, for Chad's reiatsu signal to eventually die out, to disappear completely. But it had stopped, it was still there, faint, but still there.

New energy that he didn't even know he had, flooded into his body.

"Why am I wasting my time running?" he asked himself, "if I die here, then Chad, Orihime, Uryu, Ganju, Hanataro, Yoruichi, and Kuroda. They all came here to help me! If I die, I'll let all of them down. I need to save Rukia and take everyone home."

"I don't have time to be afraid!" he screamed,

A sudden, ring of bells echoed through the air. Ichigo quickly spun around to see Kenpachi, sitting lazily against the wall. A fine layer of dust fell of him as he pushed himself up to face the young boy.

"Are you done running?" he asked as though he'd been waiting for years, "or have just accepted your death?"

"The answer," started Ichigo as he raised Zangetsu, "is neither."

With his renewed strength, Ichigo charged head first into the fray. As he did, Kenpachi noticed something was different. Before, when the kid had charged, it had felt like an act of desperation. His steps would be clumsy, his grip would be weak, and he'd reek of fear.

This was more like a calvary charge.

_Just hold on Chad,_

Ichigo's sword smashed into the Captains, the blades grinded against one another, sending a spray of sparks into the air.

_I'll beat this guy,_

Ichigo drew back his zanpaktou

_And come save you_

With all his might he swung

_No matter what!_

The blade slashed across the man's chest and for the first time in nearly a century, the Captain of the 11th squad, bled.

It was a revelation on both sides.

"Sorry," said Ichigo, "but I can't die yet. If I die, everything that I hold up, will be destroyed."

_I can cut him, I fight him, I can win!_

The Kenpachi reached up to his chest and drew his fingers across the cut, smearing blood over them. He raised his digits to his eyes, as though inspecting the red fluid.

A large smile, gradually spread across his face.

"Well well well," said the Captain without a hint of worry that his armor had been pierced, "it seems you do have some fight."

Ichigo was visibly taken aback by the man's apparent lack of fear.

'I guess that Kuroda guy knew what he was talking about,' thought Kenpachi,

"Maybe this will be fun after all," he said as he advanced on his opponent, "just keep that blade nice and sharp."

"Got that? Ichigo Kurosaki?"

The Kenpachi let loose a burst of reiatsu, as custom when fighting a duel. The challenge had been initiated, the real fight would begin.

This time, it was the Captain that made the first move. He charge forward like an angry bull and brought his sword down at the shorter man. Ichigo swung his own sword, the two clashed in a powerful maelstrom of power.

Kenpachi could not help but cackle a little, this was turning out to be a fun day.

9!)(*%&)!#*(%^#)(#!^)(*^#%!)(*#%^)!#(%*)!#%)(#%*)

Rajin lay in his comfy hospitable bed, perfectly content to simply do nothing at the moment. Kaito on the other hand, was another story.

Kaito lay on the bed, on the other side of the same room that Rajin had been put in. Needless to say, Kaito was not the world's greatest roommate, at all.

"I am so bored!" he shouted overdramatically,

Rajin sighed, "If your so bored, find something to occupy yourself."

"There's nothing TO occupy myself with," Kaito replied,

"Well maybe if you hadn't gotten yourself so badly hurt, you wouldn't be in this situation,"

"Ha! Your one to talk," Kaito pointed out, "you look like one of those mummy guys from Egypt!"

"So do you,"

There was suddenly a knock on the door, interrupting their "brotherly bonding",

"Come in," called Kaito,

The door opened to reveal the Lieutenant of the 10th squad, Rangiku Matsumoto.

"Hiya!" she enthusiastically waved as she entered the room,

"Rangiku!" Kaito shouted with equal enthusiasm

"Lieutenant Matsumoto," Rajin replied politely

"Nice to see you two boys," she said as she sauntered into their room,

"It's nice to see you too," Kaito said suggestively as his eyes looked the curvaceous Lieutenant over. Rangiku giggled girlishly, while Rajin gave a sigh of irritation.

The Lieutenant of the 10th division was a woman of average height, with long wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, full lips, and a beauty mark under the right side of her mouth. She had a very curvaceous figure, one that most women could only dream of having. Her clothes showed that she knew it too; her shihakusho was purposely left to hang loose, revealing her ample bosom. In addition to the standard uniform she wore, a gold necklace hung around her neck, though it was mostly submerged into her cleavage and a long pink scarf over her shoulders. Her zanpaktou was carried on behind her back at waist level as opposed to traditionally carrying it at the hip.

"So, why are you here?" asked Kaito with a playfully raised eyebrow, "come to comfort me? You know I think my wounds would heal faster if a lovely lady such as yourself were to kiss them."

"Oh, I don't know," she said teasingly as feigned shyness, "I might consider it if you buy dinner."

"Heh, we'll see," he replied playfully,

"Ignoring Kaito's idiocy," interrupted Rajin, "why are you here?"

"I was checking on Momo when I heard that you two were in here, so I thought I'd check on you guys as well," she explained,

"Momo?"

"Lieutenant Hinamori?"

"Yeah," confirmed Rangiku,

"Why is Lieutenant Hinamori in the hospital?" asked Rajin,

A dark cloud crossed Rangiku's face as the question left Rajin's lips. Her eyes became noticeably down cast and her usual joyous aura seemed to suddenly fade.

"Momo, isn't in the hospital," she replied, "she's in jail."

"What?" they both cried simultaneously,

"What happened?" asked Rajin,

"This is why I hate sitting in hospitals, I always miss important stuff!" complained Kaito,

Rangiku explained how early this morning, Captain Aizen had been found dead, his own Zanpaktou impaled through his chest and his corpse left to hang high over the ground. Momo had lost her rationality at the sight of the death of her beloved Captain and began accusing Captain Ichimaru Gin of being the murder. Despite the law of Soul Society, Momo released her zanpaktou and attacked the Captain, only to be stopped by Lieutenant Kira, who also illegally released his Zanpaktou.

Thankfully, both were stopped before any real harm could be done. But both had to be thrown in jail for illegally releasing their zanpaktou.

"Captain Aizen, dead," Kaito whispered in disbelief,

He hadn't known the Captain very well personally, but he had met the man on several occasions. He'd seemed like a nice enough guy and Momo had been particularly attached to him.

Rajin could also not easily digest the information that had just been delivered to him. But while he took in this new information, his mind also turned to something else.

"Lieutenant Matsumoto," he suddenly said, "do we know who killed Captain Aizen?"

"There are no trails to find out for sure," she replied, "but our top suspects are the ryoka."

"I suppose that would make sense," said Rajin,

"Well, they beat us, so it only makes sense that they'd be able to kill Aizen," said Kaito, "how's Momo holding up?"

"She'll be alright," Rangiku answered with a smile, albeit a sad one, "she just needs some time alone."

"I'll need to start mobilizing the force as soon as I get cleared for field work again," decided Rajin, "who knew that these Ryoka could cause so much trouble."

"Hm, well I'll let you two get back to rest," she said as she turned around to leave,

"What, I don't get a get well kiss?" asked Kaito,

"Ha! Maybe I'll give you one when you finally take me on a date," she replied before closing the door behind her.

"Rajin, do you think that maybe…"

"I don't think so, we would have noticed if the Commander killed Aizen and our fight took place around the time that Captain Aizen's body was found. I think something else is happening and I think the Commander knows what."

!(%!#*&_(#*%&!_#%&*!_#(*&_(&_!#*&_#(*))!#%()!#%*_)

The tip of Kenpachi's sword dragged across the floor as he brought it up to collide with Ichigo's giant zanpaktou. The clash between the two sent powerful gusts of wind through the alleys as the two struggled for dominance over the other.

Kenpachi continued to grin like a mad man as he suddenly grabbed Ichigo's zanpaktou by the tip and pulled the kid towards him. It was enough to lift Ichigo clean off his feet and bring him within striking distance.

The captain's sword shot out with a powerful thrust that just barely missed Ichigo, tearing the collar of his shihakusho. Thinking quickly, he lashed out with his foot and hit Kenpachi's fingers, forcing the man to let go of Ichigo's sword.

Ichigo quickly tumbled away and sprang to his feet, ready for the Captain's next attack. Only to find, he wasn't there anymore.

Suddenly, there was the ring of those bells again.

Ichigo quickly raised his sword over his head, just in time to block an overhead strike from behind. His knees buckled under the enormous strength of the Captain's attack, barely holding the back of his own blade from the tip of his nose.

"Yes! Good reaction!" observed the psychotic Captain,

Ichigo, gave a violent shove to Kenpachi before moving out of striking distance.

"Your focus is improving! Unlike before, you're actually hearing my bells," said Kenpachi with much glee, "my eye patch and bells, are both there so I can enjoy the fight more. No reason for them if you don't take advantage of them."

"Damn it, don't take me lightly!" growled Ichigo through pants, "is that why you don't release your zanpaktou either?"

"Huh?"

"Don't you get it, my sword can already cut you! If you go easy on me, your gonn-"

"My zanpaktou ain't got a name," interrupted Kenpachi,

"What?"

"You heard me, my zanpaktou don't got any name, this is it," explained Kenpachi, "this is my zanpaktou's true form."

"Is that so?" asked Ichigo with a renewed sense of hope, now that he knew his enemy was at a severe disadvantage, "Hearing that is a relief; that means your sword can't get any stronger than it is. In that case-"

Kenpachi suddenly thrust his blade forward; Ichigo quickly raised Zangetsu and blocked the incoming strike with the broadside of his blade.

"In that case what? Just a little more and I can win? Is that what you thought?" asked Kenpachi,

"You're the one who's taking _me _lightly," said Kenpachi, "the reason I don't seal my zanpaktou, is because my reiatsu is so huge I couldn't seal it, even if I held it in as hard as I could."

"So when I'm fighting, I make a habit of holding back when I kill. Do you understand? If I didn't do that, my opponents would be too fragile; I wouldn't have any time to enjoy the fight! They'd all just die right from the beginning!"

That simple fact, made Ichigo's resolve, waver, ever so slightly. But it was enough to cost him victory.

Kenpachi's jagged blade pierced straight through Zangetsu.

Ichigo, could only look down in horror, at the sight of the blade protruding from his own body and the blood that began to seep from the wound.

"I told you not to soften up your reiatsu," said Kenpachi, "softening up, just because you found one or two chances for winning,"

Kenpachi slid his sword out of Ichigo's chest, blood stained it's tip. The hole that he'd caused in Ichigo's oversized zanpaktou; suddenly began to crack and finally broke in two.

Ichigo fell to the ground.

"What a shitty ending," muttered Kenpachi,

He "tch'd" in disgust as he saw the boy laying on the ground, barely holding on to life as he blood began to form a pool around him.

"Someone who could cut me, who could hear my bells in the middle of a fight, it's been a long time since I've seen either," admitted Kenpachi,

"What a buzz-kill," he muttered as he turned around to walk away in disappointment,

Ichigo was starting to feel his own death. Hands were becoming cold, his grip was beginning to weaken, breaths were becoming much more shallow and his vision was turning dark, he could just barely make out the Captain of the 11th squad walking away.

"Get back here! I can still win!" is what he wanted to shout,

But when he opened his mouth, he found himself unable to form the simplest of words beyond a gargle.

_Damn it! Damn it! Damn it all! I can't die yet! I can't! I just can't! I have to win!_

_Move! Damn it! Why can't I move! Why can't I stop bleeding!_

_I need one more chance! I know I can win!_

_I have to save Rukia!_

Time stopped, the air became stale, the world lost its color, fate would not allow this boy to die just yet.

Out from the depths of the farthest plane, came Zangetsu himself. The heels of his shoes clacked noisily along the paved ground as he walked towards his wielder.

"Do you want to fight?" he asked in his deep booming voice, "do you want to win?"

"Or do you simply want to live?" he continued, "Which is it?"

"I…want to win," Ichigo proclaimed weakly,

"I can't hear you,"

"Just fighting is meaningless," said Ichigo as he struggled to raise his voice, "just surviving is meaningless! I want to win!"

"I WANT TO WIN!" he screamed,

Zangetsu let a ghost of a smirk pass his lips,

"Very well then," he said as he kneeled down to Ichigo, "Then I shall show you the way."

With that, his cloak took on a mind of its own and swallowed them both. Taking them into the world of which only they shared.

(#*(%&^)(#%*&)(#%*&)(%*#^)#%()&^()%#*^)#(%*^)(#)

Kenpachi was in a bad mood after that fight, his only comfort was that he'd be able to fight against that other ryoka now. Perhaps that would provide some entertainment, after that last fight, he was in need of some serious fun.

He'd gotten into the mood when that first cut had been placed on his chest, but the kid had to go and ruin it by softening up.

Suddenly, he felt a giant spike of reiatsu flare up from behind him. He turned his head to see what was going on and for a single second, his eyes widened with surprise.

Ichigo was standing.

'What the hell," thought Kenpachi, 'his reiatsu signal was just about to disappear and his bleeding…it's stopped.

Not only that but he was emitting a crazily large amount of reiatsu, and it had a much different feel from before. It was now focused, sharp, confident.

This was a completely different person from before.

'But let's just see if he fights like a different person as well,' thought the captain as he raised his sword,

Without warning, Ichigo suddenly pounced forward with a vicious slash. Kenpachi, not even having expected the kid to make the first move, was caught completely off guard when the sword sliced through his shoulder, drawing a huge amount of blood.

Ichigo kept going, he followed up with an upward slash from the ground that Kenpachi quickly blocked but found himself unable to hold back with his current level of power.

Ichigo pushed through his defense and brought Zangetsu back down on the Captain's other shoulder, giving him a nasty gash.

The force of the attack was strong enough to send Kenpachi reeling backwards, he sunk his sword into the building beside him to slow himself down until finally he stopped.

"Sorry," said Ichigo, "but I can't waste any time here, I'm gonna have to finish this quickly."

Kenpachi let out a maniacal cackle at hearing those words.

"Finish this quickly? I'm afraid I can't have that. Not when this fight…has gotten SO DAMN FUN!" he screamed, letting loose a gigantic gust of reiatsu,

Ichigo was taken a back by the apparent disregard for the wounds he'd just inflicted, ones that would have dropped any normal opponent. But it was obvious that Kenpachi was not normal.

The Captain suddenly lunged forward with an experimental swing, Ichigo easily blocked the attacked and returned it with a sideways swipe. Kenpachi parried the attack but was sent skidding backwards just from blocking it.

'So, a fifth isn't good enough anymore huh?' though Kenpachi ecstatically, 'good! I want to ramp this fight up! Let's try a third!'

Kenpachi charged forth and swung his sword form right to left, the strike made contact with Ichigo's blade and caused him to stumble back. Kenpachi swung again; Ichigo parried and retaliated with his own attack which caught Kenpachi across the chest. It was a shallow cut but Kenpachi had still yet to land one of his own strikes.

But who cared, he was having fun now!

'So he can take more than a third huh? Let's try half!' he decided,

Kenpachi struck out again, this time with half his power behind his attack. Their blades smashed together again and this time, it was a dead even. Kenpachi couldn't help but smile, sure, he couldn't let loose completely, but then again he never really did.

This fight would at the very least, provide a good amount of entertainment.

Kenpachi broke the stalemate first then quickly struck again, this time sending Ichigo tumbling backwards into a wall.

Amazingly enough, the kid walked out without too much injury, save a cut or two on his shihakusho and bruise on his shoulder.

"Come on! Come at me with everything you've got!" ordered Kenpachi as he charged again,

The two clashed together, sparks flew as they smashed their blades into each-others again and again. Kenpachi struck with a diagonal slash but Ichigo parried and retaliated with a flurry of attacks, all of which Kenpachi either blocked or completely shrugged off despite losing blood.

Ichigo jumped into the air and tried to bring a devastating blow down from above, only for Kenpachi to block the blow, grab his sword by the handle and toss him into the ground.

Pain shot through his injured side as he crashed into the pavement, he had just barely managed to roll out of the way as Kenpachi brought his sword down on his position.

Though he did not receive damage from the actual strike, the Captain's attack was powerful enough to actually send out a powerful explosion, causing Ichigo to be tossed like a ragdoll and smash into a wall.

"Get up!" commanded Kenpachi,

Ichigo did just that, raising his sword to block another powerful strike from Kenpachi, the Captain wore that devil like grin as the two once again struggled with each other.

But this time Kenpachi practically guided their swords to the side so that the tips of both their weapons was angled downwards, without warning he lashed out with his free hand and smacked his knuckles into Ichigo's chin, sending the boy flying into a wall.

The boy quickly recovered, despite the fact that his collision had caused the wall to develop several large cracks. Then charged back into the fray, as he did, Kenpachi lashed out with a thrust. Ichigo dodged under the Captain's sword and swung out, catching the Captain on his side, giving him another mortal wound.

But still the Captain came at him.

"How'd you come back to life? How'd you suddenly get so strong? There's a million things that I'm wondering about!" he screamed maniacally, "but I'm willing to hold of my questions for now, right now, let's just enjoy this fight!"

Kenpachi let loose another gust of reiatsu as he charged again.

He slammed his blade into Ichigo's once, twice, three times; then shot out with a stab. Ichigo was forced to jump away for fear of being overwhelmed.

With a savage war cry, Ichigo charged forward, the two collided in a spray of sparks. Kenpachi kept grinning the entire time, Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

'Damn it! I'm the one who's pushing harder!' he screamed inside his head, Kenpachi broke the lock and swung again, only for Ichigo to parry and immediately riposte, catching Kenpachi just under his collar bone. Yet, the Captain kept grinning, and came back for more.

'How does he keep coming back?' demanded Ichigo,

By now the Captain was upon him, Ichigo lashed out in defense but Kenpachi wisely kept a step back, making Ichigo's swing miss him entirely, leaving him completely exposed.

With a grin Kenpachi thrust out his blade, Ichigo attempted to back up and hopefully avoid the attack but he would have no such luck, the blade caught him in the ribs and sunk in a full inch before Ichigo managed to pull it out.

"Damn," cursed Ichigo as he felt blood began to leak from his side.

By now, both of them had been wounded multiple times and though Kenpachi looked worse for ware, he showed no signs of slowing down.

Instead he laughed madly as he continued his rampage against the Substitute shinigami.

Ichigo stumbled away from the crazy Captain's latest attack, his breath heavy and arms growing weaker.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" questioned Ichigo, "Are you crazy? Do you really love fighting that much? Aren't you afraid of being cut or dying?"

"Me? Crazy?" asked Kenpachi as though it were the most outlandish thing he'd ever heard, "You're the crazy one! How can you be this strong and not enjoy fighting?"

"Have fun while you fight! Death and pain are just the prices we pay for it!" he continued, "because only when we fight, are we truly living life to it's full!"

With that said, Kenpachi surged forth, laughing the entire time as the two warriors began to attack each other like mad men, or in Kenpachi's case, a madder man.

Ichigo landed even more hits that would have fallen just about anyone, but he was beginning to tire and Kenpachi seemed to have a boundless source of energy. Ichigo on the other hand was beginning to get sloppy, Kenpachi struck out and cut a shallow line across Ichigo's chest, then another on his shoulder.

He might have been holding back, but this fight was still damn fun.

Ichigo landed a final slash across the psychotic Captain's face, and he returned it with brutal cut to Ichigo's shoulder. The substitute soul reaper quickly stumbled away from the Captain who had taken a pause to start laughing uncontrollably as blood oozed down his body and onto the ground.

"!" he screamed, "This is great, I can't remember the last time I had so much fun!"

'Damn it! Why's he so relaxed?' asked Ichigo,

"It can't hurt too much," said Kenpachi as he reached towards his eye patch, "to let go just a little."

With a simple move of his wrist, he tore the patch from his eye.

A geyser, unlike any the ryoka's had ever seen before, was unleashed in Seireitei. It's pure unrestrained presence, tore through the pavement of the streets and shook buildings as though they were being hit by an earthquake.

Even Kuroda and Yoruichi, so far from the fight, felt it's effects. Though he hid it well, Kuroda could feel this reiatsu constricting him with its power. Yoruichi, was truly worried now.

'What the hell just happened?' asked Ichigo, 'His reiatsu is completely different from before!'

"That's dirty," called Ichigo, "what were you hiding behind that eye patch?"

"Hiding? In my right eye? Ha! Like I'd use some pansy-ass cheap trick like that!" scoffed Kenpachi, "It's just a little something I had the Research and Development Bureau make for me,"

He held up his eye patch to Ichigo, showing a thousand little mouths endlessly chewing away in the back of it.

"This little monster, endlessly consumes the reiatsu of the one that wears it," explained Kenpachi, "I'm gonna use the reiatsu I've been feeding it, to pound you into the ground!"

Kenpachi experimentally swung his sword to the side, suddenly the building that had been at least ten feet away from him, came crashing down. Cut in half by Kenpachi's uncontrollable power.

"HAHAHAHA!" he screamed, "let's see what you've got, Ichigo Kurosaki!"

Ichigo felt fear grip his heart once again, how could he ever hope to defeat such a monster? He cut a friggin building in half for god's sake!

Suddenly, a comforting hand clapped his shoulder.

"Zangetsu," he whispered,

"I am here, Ichigo," spoke the spirit of his zanpaktou, "can you hear it?"

"What?"

"The screaming of his sword,"

Ichigo focused on his enemy, and found that he could hear a screaming. A scream that only came from someone that truly wanted to be heard, obviously, it fell on deft ears.

"Yeah, I hear it."

"He cannot hear it, when two do not trust other, fight together, they only damage each other," said Zangetsu, "he who believes in nothing but his own power cannot understand that. Ichigo, can you trust me?"

"Of course," Ichigo responded almost immediately, "I'm putting all my power in your hands. Use it as you wish. Please give me the strength to win!"

Ichigo's own reiatsu, suddenly shot up. Giving him his own geyser of light blue reiatsu.

"Still getting stronger? Good," Kenpachi said devilishly,

"I'm borrowing Zangetsu's power," explained Ichigo, "He and I, fight as one. There's no way I'll lose to you, who only knows how to fight alone."

"Zangetsu? That your zanpaktou's name?" Kenpachi asked, "borrowing your zanpaktou's power and fighting together with it, what a load of shit."

"Our zanpaktou's are only tools for fighting," continued Kenpachi, "fighting together with your zanpaktou, is some line for a weakling who can't fight with his own damn skills! It ain't a line for you and I, Ichigo!"

With a final burst, Kenapchi's reiatsu took on the terrifying image of a morbid human skull. Ichigo released his own burst, pushing his body to the absolute limits of what it could stand. His own reiatsu, took on the frightening image of a ghoulish face, blood red eyes that seemed to pierce through to the enemy broke through the blue. Sharpened teeth waited anxiously to dig into their prey.

With a savage war cry from both, they two combatants charged.

Ichigo swung his sword with all his might. He would win!

The moment they came into contact, their powers collided. An explosion of yellow and blue tore through the streets, sending a plum far into the sky and destroying all the buildings that had surrounded them up until now. Powerful gusts of wind howled through the alleys, smoke billowed into the air, rock flew like birds.

The sound of two swords; rang into history.

When the smoke cleared, both had found their marks.

Ichigo's zanpaktou had dug deep into Kenpachi's shoulder and the Captain's nameless blade had found its way into Ichigo's chest.

Blood dripped to the ground. One combatant's knees buckled.

"Sorry, guys,"

With a gasp, Ichigo fell to the ground in a pool of his own blood.

Kenpachi smirked. What a kid, even after all that. The other ryoka had been right, this Ichigo, was something special, even a man like himself had to admit that.

He'd faced his fears, faced overwhelming odds, gained the power to face them head on, and fought with all his might.

Even though he'd held back, Kenpachi had to give the kid credit. Not many in the world were like him.

"What are you sorry about you idiot?" asked Kenpachi, "you won."

Playing his act till the end, Kenpachi fell to the ground.

A grim wind seemed to blanket the battlefield as a small girl with bright pink hair stepped through the carnage. Eventually she reached the grisly scene of the two combatants, but she did not flinch.

Instead, she bowed, "Thank you very much."

Ichigo clung to life, just enough to hear her words. He was to say the least, rather confused. That sucked, he'd die confused.

"Because of you, Icchy, Kenny had a really great time! It's been a long time since I've seen Kenny have that much fine before!" she spoke as though they'd just finished having a soccer game or something, weird.

"Thank you very much!" she repeated,

She suddenly grabbed the fallen Captain and as though he were a bag of sand, put him on her shoulder, "Try to stay alive, Icchy, okay? And if you get a chance, play with Kenny another time, okay?"

With that said, she leapt into the air and hopped her way up to the top of the buildings.

'Am I gonna die?' wondered Ichigo, 'I…don't want to die.'

He felt his heart beat begin to slow, it was an odd feeling. He could actually feel the veins in his arms, become deprived of the blood they were so used to getting. His vision was beginning to blur again, his mind was in a haze. He couldn't even remember what he was here for.

What was he here for? A person? Someone special? It was there, he could still make out the reason, he just need to grab it. Dark hair, large eyes, Shinigami, something beginning with an R. R. R. Oh, that's right, Rukia, he was here to save Rukia.

!)%)(*#%^)(*#^!%)(#%^!)(#*^%)(#*^%)(#*%^)!#(%*^)

"Kenny! Oh Kenny!" cried out Yachiru,

"Hm?" he mumbled as he opened his eyes,

"Yay! You're okay!" she shouted as she began to hop for joy,

"Of course I'm fine Yachiru," he scoffed as he sat up, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to work out some knots, "I was just sleeping, the ground was pretty comfortable actually."

"Really, judging from the way you look, I would have guessed that you passed out from blood loss," said another voice, "or, is that how you usually look like after a fight?"

Kenpachi turned his head to see the ryoka he'd met earlier standing on the same roof as him, just a meter or two away. What was his name again? Kuroda?

"So, how'd I do?" asked Kenpachi as he got up to stretch.

"Good," replied Kuroda, "a bit much, but it achieved the results I was looking for."

"Training your men by putting through life threatening situations huh?" asked Kenpachi with a large grin, "heh, I could use someone like you in my division. Bet you could whip all the weaklings into shape."

"Perhaps," said Kuroda as he turned to walk away,

"Hey!" called Kenpachi, stopping the ryoka in mid strike, "don't forget about our deal, I want my fight!"

"I will keep my end of the bargin," assured Kuroda, "until then, go get yourself patched up, I will give you your fight when this is all over."

"Tch, fine, we'll do it your way," muttered Kenpachi,

"You seemed to have fun with Ichigo," pointed out Kuroda, "was that not enough?"

"It was fun, but I didn't get to really let loose," explained Kenpachi as he picked up his jagged sword, "the fights that are the most fun, are the ones that let me go all out."

"Then I promise you, I will make you use all your strength," replied Kuroda,

Kenpachi grinned, "I'm looking forward to it,"

With their exchange done, Kuroda shunpo'd away.

A couple moments later and Kuroda reappeared by Ichigo's body, Yoruichi had placed her paw on his neck, probably taking his pulse.

"How is he?"

"Pretty badly thrashed," she admitted, "but that is to be expected when you fight the Kenpachi of Squad 11. But if we give him medical attention, he'll make it. We just need somewhere safe."

"Alright, let's get going," he decided,

"One moment," said Yoruichi,

The hairs on her back rippled as a light suddenly broke from her fur, momentarily blinding Kuroda in the process. When the light finally died down, he turned back to see Yoruichi in her human form. Ichigo slung over her shoulder…oh yeah, and she was naked.

Kuroda, being who he was, immediately turned away, a mad blush on his face.

"Alright let's go," she said then shunpo'd away,

Kuroda followed after, though he was slightly reluctant. There were many problems with his current situation, he just really didn't want to think about them though.

"You know, you didn't have to transform," said Kuroda as he did his best to look away while keeping on path, "I could have carried Ichigo."

"It's no problem, he's not that heavy, and besides, I needed to stretch out a bit," she explained, "it feels good just jumping around."

"That was too much information," Kuroda whispered to himself,

After a few moments of silence, Yoruichi finally asked, "So, did this accomplish everything that you wanted it to?"

"Part of it," he replied, "the next part, will of course be to save Rukia."

"Why are you even doing this?" asked Yoruichi, "can't he get stronger by training like normal people?"

"Ichigo is far from normal, training would indeed make him stronger, but people like him truly advance when their life is on the line," explained Kuroda, "if Ichigo is going to save Rukia and play his role to come, then he needs to be strong, stronger than a lieutenant, a captain, or perhaps even me."

"You have strange reasoning," replied the cat like woman,

"Your one to talk," Kuroda shot back, "but seriously, was it really necessary to change?"

"I like the free feeling," she repeated, "plus this kid's kind of cute when he's asleep."

"Oh…I see,"

Yoruichi smiled, "Do I detect some jealousy?"

"Uh…no, I'm not jealous."

"You know if you want, you can look, I won't blame you," she teased, "any healthy man would definitely grab any chance to see a hot young girl like me in the nude."

"I…I…whatever," he stuttered,

"Come on, you wouldn't want people thinking that your preferences lay…elsewhere, would you?"

"You think I'm gay?"

"I didn't say that, your preferences might go even farther than that, say…"

"Don't finish that sentence," interrupted Kuroda, " are you seriously black mailing me?"

"Maybe,"

"Ugh," he groaned, as they continued on, Kuroda actually found the temptation to look, start to grow stronger.

For a brief moment, his eyes drifted to Yoruichi's well-shaped legs, eventually sliding up to her thighs, when he finally stopped himself.

'Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid!' he chastised himself,

"Oh, did you finally look?" asked Yoruichi, who sounded to be in delight,

"No," he lied,

!#%(*()#%*&_!()#%&!_#%*(&!_&()%_)%&_&!#%_&_)!#%&(_)

At his office in the 3rd division barracks, Ichimaru Gin sat calmly at his desk, fox like grin ever on his face. He reached over to his bandaged leg and tore of the white gauze, revealing it to be freshly healed, his smile widened.

"I think that's time to start movin, don'tcha agree?"

**End**

**A/N**

**Well, I think that was a decent chapter. I thought about skipping this fight, but I decided not to for various reasons. I also found this a good time to do some where teasing with Yoruichi, it's fun! You might have noticed that I changed the fight up a bit, letting Ichigo get banged up a bit more. Because, really, I don't think Ichigo would have really walked away from that fight as unharmed as he was, I mean come on! He's fighting Kenpachi Zaraki! It's almost impossible not to get completely thrashed!**

**In any case, you Kenpachi fans should be happy to see that this fight was in fact rigged. HAHA!**

**I would also like to take this time to point some things out to you guys. I've been looking around on , and I've found some really great stories. But I feel that they're under appreciated. I mean, they're writing is way better than mine but they still have like, 15 reviews at best. So I would like to as a favor from you, the reader, to go and check out some of these stories if you have some free time and write a review or two. Because as a writer, I know how much of an encouragement a review can be, plus, they really deserve it. So here's the list:**

**Universe-Title**

**F.E.A.R - The Lieutenant and the Assassin**

**Bleach – Trials and Tribulations of Nobles***

**Bleach – Breaking Routine**

***The author of that story is also a great artist; she has a great deviant art page. If you do go see her story, tell her I said hi please! I've been too busy.**

**I'd appreciate it if you gave some support to these stories, cause they seriously deserve it. Well actually that last one is doing pretty well but I thought I'd just give a shout out to it.**

**Anyway, thanks for hearing me out. **

**Omake time!**

**We join Rajin and Kaito in the hospital, Rajin has just recently woken up.**

"**Huh? What's with these flowers?" he asked, noticing fresh vase of flowers sitting on the small table next to him, Rajin noticed a small card next to the vase and picked it up.**

"**From: Captain of the 2****nd**** squad, hope you get well soon"**

"**Oh, that from your girlfriend?" asked Kaito, who had suddenly woken up for no apparent reason,**

"**None of your concern," replied Rajin,**

"**Hey, I could give you some advice if you want," suggested Rajin,**

"**You don't even have a girlfriend, what advice could you possibly give me," pointed out Rajin,**

"**Four words," replied Kaito, "go for the boobs!"**

"**That's your advice?"**

"**Yup," beamed Kaito,**

"**I think you've been hanging out with Lieutenant Matsumoto a little too much,"**

"**Well, now that you mention it…hey, who is your girlfriend anyway? Does she have really great boobs?"**

"**uh…well,"**

**Somewhere in the 2****nd**** Squad's barracks,**

"**Hmm, why do I suddenly feel inadequate?" Soi fon asker herself,**


	16. Chapter 16

**What a nice day to write! *looks outside* It's raining, wow, that's a surprise. Not really, it's pretty normal where I live. Anyway, I was just rewatching one or two episodes for Bleach my imagination got the better of me and I imagined Kuroda destroying a few people.**

**I'll back on this fondly I'm sure.**

**Anyhow, you are definitely going to have to read the author's note at the end of this chapter because it contains IMPORTANT STUFF!**

**But for now, let's just read!**

Chapter 16

Step 2: Feed the fire

It was a good while after Ichigo's fight with Kenpachi when Kuroda and Yoruichi managed to get the badly wounded boy to a safe place. It was a small cave that had been cutout into the face of a canyon wall; not exactly the most comfortable place to do surgery but Kuroda took what he was given.

With a bit of help from Yoruichi, Kuroda managed to stitch Ichigo's major wound's up and repair some of his fractured bones, which quite frankly was just about every bone in his body. It was amazing the kid was still alive; anyone else and they'd have died from serious blood loss or just from the pain.

"How is he?" asked Yoruichi, who had put her clothes on, as per Kuroda's request,

"Not bad but-hey, what's this?"

"What?"

"This," repeated Kuroda. From underneath Ichigo's robes, Kuroda pulled out what could only be described as a pure white hollow mask.

A dark ripple echoed through their bodes as they observed the object.

"Is, that what I think it is?" asked Yoruichi,

"It most certainly is," answered Kuroda, he let out a large sigh as he put the accursed object down, "I was afraid of this."

"What?"

"The process that gave Ichigo his shinigami powers, they also gave him hollow powers," explained Kuroda, "it's most likely because he's still human, because he hasn't died yet he still has the possibility of either becoming a shinigami or hollow when he dies. When Kisuke pushed him through the training that gave him his own powers, he must have sped the process past the point where it's decided whether or not he'll become a hollow. So instead, it manifested itself here."

"Do you think it's dangerous?" she asked,

"At the moment, I'm not sure," admitted Kuroda, "though if this proves one thing, it's that the hollow inside of him has the ability to manipulate the outside world to some degree. That mask probably saved Ichigo's life."

Yoruichi nodded, "I guess we'll worry about it later,"

Kuroda grunted in agreement.

"For now we worry about the task at hand, how is he?"

"Not as bad as I thought he'd be," admitted Kuroda, "I did all that I could but I'm no medic, some of his wounds will have to heal by themselves. He'll still be able to fight, which is good, but he should try to stretch before doing any physical activity otherwise the wounds might reopen."

"Can't you use Kyuuketsu Ude?" asked Yoruichi, "that's seems to work pretty well."

"It's not good for healing people on a regular basis," replied Kuroda,

"Why not?"

"Because it forcibly extracts the victims reiatsu from their bodies. People let reiatsu flow from their bodies regularly, but speeding up the process can cause some serious harm to the victim," explained Kuroda, "that's why I only use it on enemies. Using it on a friendly would be just as harmful as any injuries they'd already attained."

"I see, will he be able to fight?"

"Absolutely"

"Good," she said, "then it's time to think of our next step. Once Ichigo wakes up, he'll want to go after Rukia."

"Why not just let him?"

"What?"

"I don't see any reason we shouldn't just let him go after Rukia, she's the reason we all came here isn't she?"

"That's not the problem," said Yoruichi, "the problem is that Ichigo will want to go after her, meaning in person. I don't think he should be up and about after such a close encounter with death, he needs time to rest his body and mind."

"He'll be fine," Kuroda replied bluntly,

"Aren't you supposed to be the rational thinker between us?" asked Yoruichi, who was starting to become skeptical as to whether or not her friend was losing his mind.

"You were the Captain of the 2nd division, you're completely capable of rational thought as well" pointed out Kuroda, "and I am thinking rationally. I know Ichigo better than you think I do. One of the things I learned as the Commander of Seireitei's Black operations was to know your subordinate's limitations, Ichigo can keep going, that much I know."

Yoruichi contemplated the black haired man's words before nodding, "well, I guess I wouldn't be able to hold him back anyway. But I've got a question for you before anything else happens."

"What would that be?"

"Are there any other parts to this 'plan' that you've come up with that I should know" she asked,

Kuroda noted that she said "plan" like it meant "deranged thought", though he couldn't blame her for thinking that way. His plans did tend to be a bit…brutal…and crazy, even to his most loyal subordinates.

"Well, I'm not going to send him into any more fights that I know he can't win if that's what you're asking," he replied truthfully,

"No more crazy Captains?"

"No,"

"Death traps?"

"No,"

"Alliances with the enemy?"

"No,"

"Psychotic warlord?"

"No,"

"Good," she said, finally satisfied, "but I've got one more question."

"What?"

"Why do you wear those bands?"

"Huh?" blurted out Kuroda as though it were the absolute worst thing someone could ask.

"You know, those bands on your arm," she said, pointing to the black leather bands that Kuroda kept wrapped around his arm, "you use them like that Kenpachi from earlier, whenever you take off one of them, your reiatsu just jumps to new levels."

"So?"

"So, I'd like to know why you where them," she said, this time emphasizing "why",

Kuroda paused for a moment before saying, "I like to challenge myself."

"You know, I asked Kisuke this question and he said the same thing," said Yoruichi, "but I think I know you a little bit better than you think I do."

"Wouldn't surprise me," he replied dryly, "but I doubt you know everything."

"Well, I **do **know that Kuroda Ryou doesn't do anything without a very good reason, restricting your own power just so that you can make life more challenging doesn't sound like a good reason to me," she explained, "so tell me, what's the real reason?"

"The real reason is just like I said," he replied, slightly irritated, "I just like a challenge."

"You're not a battle hungry Kenpachi Kuroda, at least not enough to want to restrain your own power with those bands you keep on your arm, just so fighting is harder for you," Yoruichi said, this time more sternly.

He was being stubborn and she was just trying to learn more about him, but he refused to open up, just like always.

"Look, just mind your own business," said Kuroda as he turned his gaze away, "what I do is my own concern."

"It's my concern too, I'm your friend, I can't just let this drop" she stated stubbornly,

"Well…let it! There are some things that I'm not allowed to share, even with you," he growled,

"You shared it with Kisuke," she shot back,

"I needed his help to make these things in the first place," he explained gruffly, "look I don't want to argue about this."

"Then just tell me!"

"Why should I?"

"I'm your friend," she repeated, this time more adamantly,

There was a brief pause before he said, "You know, real friends don't disappear on each other for almost century."

Yoruichi's eyes widened, then just as quickly became downcast. That had hurt, a lot.

Kuroda furrowed his eyebrows and let his lips curl down before turning almost entirely away from her. He hadn't wanted to say that to her, but she was getting too close to him for her and his, own good.

Kuroda hadn't made it as the Commander of Soul Society's shadiest group by letting people know what he was thinking, he done it by keeping everybody, even his friends, at arm's length and that's how he liked it. Though he admittedly failed more than once to keep them there, they always seemed to go right back once he pulled away some more.

Yoruichi was one of the harder cases to crack. No matter what he did, no matter who angry he got, or irritated he made known he was, she just kept coming back to try again.

Considering how long he'd lived, you'd think that he'd learn to deal with it, but he still hasn't.

The conversation would have ended then and there, with him not even bothering to respond to her. But Yoruichi's persistence wouldn't have it.

Kuroda suddenly felt something fall gently on his shoulder; he turned his head slightly and saw that it was Yoruichi's hand. A strange sense of…warmth, spread down from his shoulder and into his body. Though perhaps warmth was not the right word to describe it, quite frankly he didn't know how to describe it.

A deep sigh from behind him interrupted his thoughts.

"Look," said Yoruichi, her voice quivering ever so slightly, "I know I left for a while, I know I probably don't have any right to suddenly show up and start asking you things, I know I probably worried you. I guess I just want to go back to how old times were."

"I never said I was worried," mumbled Kuroda,

"Really?" asked Yoruichi, her voice picking up her playful tone again, "visiting Kisuke every week for nearly 100 years, asking whether or not he's heard from me? That isn't missing me?"

The ex-shinigami felt his cheeks heat up ever so slightly. Unconsciously his hand slipped up to his shoulder and gently touched the tip of her finger and carefully caressing them.

The warmth became greater; gradually he ventured to touch all the way up to her knuckles. He might have gone even further but something inside him suddenly snapped at him and caused him to quickly pull back.

After a few blissful moments, he felt Yoruichi's hand reluctantly slide away from his shoulder and the warmth flowed out of his body, to be replaced by the cold. Not surprisingly, that cold was what he was familiar.

He took a moment to look at his own hand; glaring at it as though it had betrayed him through some horrible deed.

"Sorry," murmured Yoruichi,

Kuroda opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a long, agonizing groan.

The two of them turned to see that the noise originated from none other than the orange haired teenage hero, laying just a few feet away from them.

"Uuuuuuugh," groaned Ichigo,

Yoruichi sighed, a little disappointed that Ichigo had interrupted their emotional moment.

"I'll go wake him up," she said as she stood up and walked over to the unconscious boy,

"Oi, Ichigo," called Yoruichi as she none too gently prodded him in the side with her foot, "wake up already."

"…five more minutes" mumbled Ichigo,

"eh?"

Yoruichi pulled back her foot and gave Ichigo a solid kick to his ribs,

"YAAAAAAAAAAAH!" screamed Ichigo, his hand immediately grabbed his wounded side as he rolled around in pain, "OW OW OW OW OW OW!"

"Finally awake?" she asked, "good, saves me from having to kick you again!"

"You could have just shook me!" screamed Ichigo, still holding his injured side, when he noticed that he did not know the woman in front of him.

"That would have taken too long," replied Yoruichi, "besides, pain means that your-"

"Who are you!" Ichigo suddenly demanded, he immediately tried to jump to his feet but only succeeded in falling back down.

The bandages that wrapped his sides became stained with blotches of red,

"Calm down Ichigo," commanded Yoruichi, "If you keep moving like that you probably will die."

"Wha?-You, know my name?"

"Of course I do, I've known you for three days!"

"B-but, I've never seen you in my life!" protested Ichigo,

"What are you talking about? It's me, Yoruichi!"

"HUH!" he screamed, "but, Yoruichi is a cat!"

"Ichigo you should really settle down," said Kuroda as he finally stepped in,

"K-Kuroda! Who this woman!" asked Ichigo as he pointed a finger at Yoruichi, "she says she's Yoruichi!"

"This **is** Yoruichi," replied Kuroda,

"What! But, Yoruichi is a cat!" protested Ichigo,

"Cats don't talk Ichigo," Kuroda pointed out, "use your head."

Ichigo slouched in defeat, his mind completely unable to comprehend what he'd just been told.

"You're lucky you found out her true form this way," said Kuroda as he sat down in front of his friend,

"Huh? Why?" asked Ichigo,

"Well…" Kuroda started hesitantly, "whenever she changes from cat from to her real form, she comes out a bit…indecent."

"What do you mean?" asked Ichigo,

Yoruichi decided to step in this time,

"He means I come out naked," she explained,

"Yeah…"

"Oh…I see," replied Ichigo, whose face now resembled something like a strawberry.

"Don't listen to Kuroda," Yoruichi said jokingly, "it's not as bad as it sounds. In fact I think he enjoys it! I'll let you enjoy the view to the next time I transform."

"SHUT UP!" both men shouted,

"Argh!"

Ichigo suddenly cringed in pain as another stab of pain struck his body,

"Don't move so much," warned Kuroda, "if you keep moving you'll reopen all your wounds. Hell, half your internal organ were damaged when I started operating for you."

"Yeah, got it," Ichigo managed to say through his teeth, "thanks for that by the way."

"Don't thank me, thank this thing," said Kuroda as he picked up the hollow mask and showed it to Ichigo, "if this thing hadn't been under your shirt, you'd probably be in two pieces right now."

"What? That…was in my shirt?" asked Ichigo incredulously,

"Yeah, have you seen it before?" Kuroda asked carefully,

"Well, when I fought Renji, it seemed like that thing saved me," explained Ichigo, "so I wanted to keep it as a good luck charm, but, Hanataro got freaked out by it and threw it away."

Both Kuroda's and Yoruichi's eyes narrowed as Ichigo unintentionally confirmed their thoughts,

Ichigo noticed this but didn't think much of it,

"Oh, you're probably wondering who Hanataro is. He's a guy from the 4th squad but he's a friend," explained Ichigo, "he even healed me from my fight with Renji."

Turning his attention back to the mask, Ichigo took it from Kuroda's hands and stared at it with much curiosity.

"Still, I was sure he threw it away,"

A long, rather uncomfortable silence hung in the air before Yoruichi suddenly said, "Why don't you let me hold on to that?"

"Huh? No way, I'm gonna keep it," replied Ichigo,

"Now," she ordered, "I won't have any back talk."

Ichigo could only stare dumbly as the dark skinned woman glared at him with her piercing yellow feline eyes, he looked to Kuroda for support but found that his friend had simply turned himself away, unwilling to get involved.

"Uh…yes ma'am, whatever you say," he finally replied as he handed her the mask,

She promptly took it from him and placed it to the side, out of sight and hopefully out of mind.

"It's usually best just to do what she wants," Kuroda whispered to Ichigo while Yoruichi had her back turned, "you'll learn that eventually."

"Yeah," Ichigo replied, still a little shaken,

Kuroda gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder,

"Hey, where are we anyway?" asked Ichigo,

"Somewhere safe," answered Yoruichi, "it's a small cave in the side of a cliff face, no one knows about it except me and Kuroda."

"What? How'd you guys get me down the face of a cliff?" asked Ichigo, "is there a ladder or something?"

"No, we used this," explained Yoruichi, she reached into the folds of her robes, something Kuroda blushed at, and pulled out a small object. It resembled something you'd expect to see from some island tribe, it was essentially a series of sticks wrapped together with what looked like a bird skull stuck on top and a small wing stuck to the side.

Yoruichi held it out for Ichigo, to inspect. He took it and thoughtfully looked it over,

"So, what's it do?" he asked,

"Basically you feed it some reiatsu and it allows you to fly," explained Yoruichi, "I just used it to carry you and Kuroda down here."

She added a small giggle at the end and gave Kuroda a small smirk, the ex-commander just rolled his eyes.

Ichigo noticed the exchange between the two with a bit of surprise but decided not to bring it up.

"This must be pretty useful," he commented,

"Yup, there isn't another like it in the entire Soul Society," replied Yoruichi,

"I can't help but wonder; why would you have something like this?" Ichigo asked curiously,

"Hm?"

"You can transform, use your reiatsu like second nature, and now this, and Kuroda, you show up out of no-where and take out a dozen hollows, you've got a zanpaktou, then you go and take on two Captains, who are you guys?"

The two ex-shinigami exchanged glances before Yoruichi began to respond, "Well, we're-"

Suddenly a massive wave or reiatsu crash down on the trio, each of them felt different emotions run through their minds as they let it wash over them, but all of them knew exactly who it was.

"This reiatsu…"whispered Ichigo, "it's him!"

"It's coming from the Senzaikyu!" said Yoruichi,

Ichigo immediately grabbed Zangetsu and ran to the door, ignoring any pain in his body that voiced its protest.

"Ichigo, wait!" called Yoruichi,

"Ganju and Hanataro were headed towards the Senzaikyu, I've got to go save them!" Ichigo called back,

"What can you do in your condition? You'll only end up getting yourself hurt!" said Yoruichi, "you need to rest!"

"There's no time for that!"

Stretching out his arm, item in hand, Ichigo channeled his reiatsu into the object, the strange scepter reacted almost immediately. A small rope dropped from the bottom of its shaft and wrapped itself around his arm and the bird's skull opened itself, giving out an eerie call, lastly, the small wing on its side grew and soon became a full-fledged wing extending out from his arm.

"Fly!" he commanded,

With a mighty flap, the wing propelled Ichigo through the door and out into the sky.

"Ichigo!" called out Yoruichi, "damn it!"

"Well, I suppose we should go help him," Kuroda said nonchalantly,

($&%^*&^$%#*&!^*#$&^)($!#&*%!#$!*#&%&!#%^(!#$&)*)!#$(^*!&#$(#&*($!^))

Rukia watched in horror as the lone ryoka named Ganju, stood against her elder brother, Captain of the 6th squad, Byakuya Kuchiki.

She tried to call out, to beg her brother to be merciful, but after so much time in the Senzaikyu, she could barely breath, let alone stop her brother.

She was helpless as he uttered the release for his zanpaktou,

"**Scatter, Senbonzakura**,"

There was a flash of brilliant pink, a vibrant wave swept over the bridge that led to the Senzaikyu. For a brief moment, it seemed that nothing had happened, but it was soon broken as Ganju suddenly burst into a fountain of blood. Dozens, possibly hundreds of cuts crisscrossed his body.

The man fell to his knees, his eyes wide from shock, unable to understand why he was bleeding and why he hadn't even seen what had happened. He fell unconscious into a pool of his own blood.

The Captain of the 6th squad did not even wince as he turned to kill the last two, the boy from the 4th squad and the traitor.

Rukia, knowing her brother well, placed herself between him and Hanataro.

"Brother please don't!"

Her cry fell on deaf ears; he raised the pommel of his sword and called to his zanpaktou.

A storm of pink began to brew in the sky,

The captain needed only to send the command.

He drew back his bladeless pommel as if to strike,

Rukia closed her eyes and braced herself.

"That's enough Captain Kuchiki,"

Rukia reopened her eyes to see a new figure enter the fray. He was a tall, handsome looking man with long flowing white hair, if not for the fact that he was a bit on the pale side, he'd be every girl's ideal man.

"Captain Ukitake," whispered Rukia,

"Hey Rukia!" called Jushiro, "you look a little pale, are you feeling alright?"

"What are you doing here Captain Ukitake?" Byakuya asked coldly,

"I could ask you the same thing Kuchiki, the traitor is to be executed by the Sokyoku, it is not for you to decide when she dies, or even if she dies at all. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that it was my duty to dispatch the ryoka trying to allow her to escape," Byakuya replied bluntly, "war time exemptions allow all Captain's to do so."

"Still, releasing your zanpaktou to deal with a few low level ryoka, seems a bit extreme."

"We need to be ruthless Captain Ukitake, for all we know, it was a ryoka that killed Captain Aizen,"

"Do you really think-"

Out of nowhere, a massive amount of reiatsu simply came crashing down on the two Captains, while they were not adversely affected by it, it took both of them by surprise.

"Whose reiatsu is this?" asked Captain Ukitake, "It's clearly at the level of a Captain! But, I don't recognize it!"

"This reiatsu," whispered Rukia, "it can't be!"

Without warning, a gust of wind whipped through her hair as something shot up into the sky. Her eyes ran to the sky, there she saw both the worst and best things she could have seen that day.

"Ichigo,"

The orange haired substitute shinigami swooped down from the air and landed onto the bridge of the Senzaikyu, right in front of Rukia.

The magical wing on his right arm folded itself back together and before long, it had reformed into its original shape.

Ichigo now stood up to his full height and looked directly into Rukia's eyes.

"Ichigo," she whispered again, if only to confirm that it really was him, he gave her a heartwarming smile.

Without a word, he walked passed her and helped up Hanataro, who had fallen under the pressure of his reiatsu.

"Are you okay Hanataro? I wouldn't have sent you ahead if I'd known it'd be so dangerous,"

"I'm fine," replied Hanataro, still a bit shaky, "but Ganju-"

"Don't worry, everything will be okay, just sit tight."

With that said, Ichigo walked back over to Rukia, that smile still on his face.

"Is it really you?" she asked disbelievingly, looking up at him with large wide eyes.

"What kind of question is that?" asked Ichigo jokingly, "of course it's me!"

Rukia began to feel her eyes moisten and her lip quiver, just seeing him here, it was both a relief and a tragedy for her.

"Hey! What's with the face? You could at least try to act like your happy to see me," growled Ichigo when he saw her saddened face,

"You idiot!" she suddenly shouted, "I told you never to come here, to never come for me, I told you that I'd never forgive you if you did! Now look at you, your all cut up! You're such an idiot!"

Ichigo couldn't help but smile.

"What are you smiling about!" she demanded through teary eyes,

"What are **you** crying about?" he shot back, unexpectedly, even to himself, he lifted a hand and gently pat Rukia on her head, "tell you what, after this is over, you can chew me out all you want, but first, I've got to go beat **him**!"

"Ichigo…"

"What?" he asked as he turned to face his enemy," Don't tell me you're gonna ask me to back down after all this?"

"It's just that…"

"Because I won't, I'm not kidding, I came here to save you and that's what I'm going to do! I doesn't matter if you say want to face the death penalty or not, I'll drag you out of here if I have to!" he stated stubbornly, (cue funny moment) "From this point on, all your opinions are **REJECTED! YOU GOT THAT!**"

"W-What the hell! What did you say?" asked Rukia, all traces of her sadness suddenly vanishing, "your ignoring all of my opinions? What kind of rescue is this? A rescuer isn't supposed to ignore the rescuee!"

"Shut up" Ichigo shot back, "what kind of rescuee complains about the rescue? Why don't you just act your part, go crawl into some corner, tremble in fear, and shout 'Save me! Save me!', like you're supposed to!"

"'save me' my butt!" Rukia shouted back, "I don't need to be saved and I DO NOT TREMBLE!"

Ichigo stuck his tongue out and made an obscene face while Rukia glared daggers back at him, it would have been funny if not for their current situation.

Rukia sighed lightly, her spirits lightened, "You never change do you, what's the point, I might as well just save my breath."

"Well what do you expect, all you ever do is worry about me, try worrying about yourself for a change" he suggested, "besides, I may not look like it, but I've gotten stronger, you'll see."

Meanwhile, across the bridge

"Captain Kuchiki, who is this man?" asked Captain Ukitake,

"There is no relation between him and the man you are thinking of Captain," replied Byakuya, "He is but a lowly ryoka. I will erase him and then we can move on to ending this invasion."

As if staged, Ichigo and the Captain of the 6th squad began walking across the bridge towards each other, both intent on defeating the other, but while Byakuya felt nothing, Ichigo felt excitement.

"You're taking it awfully easy aren't you? " asked Ichigo as he grabbed Zangetsu off his back and let the cloth unravel, "all that time I spent talking with Rukia, you could have attacked."

"Are you suggesting that I need an opening to attack _you_?" asked Byakuya, "Do not speak out of your league, boy."

Byakuya flexed his reiatsu, both Hanataro and Rukia felt it's effects, immediately falling to their knees but Ichigo remained unaffected, he looked as though Byakuya hadn't done anything at all.

The substitute shinigami glared at the Captain and pointed his oversized, cleaver of a sword at the noble men, issuing his challenge.

"Oh, to be so unaffected by my reiatsu, you seem to have indeed improved a great deal," admitted Byakuya, though his voice gave no quarter to his pride, "I do not know how you regained the powers of a shinigami, but I know that you would have been better using the life I mercifully spared to have stayed in the world of the living instead of throwing it away here."

"I'm not throwing it away, I'm going to defeat you and then I'm gonna take Rukia and get out of here!" Ichigo shot back,

"I told you not to speak out of your league, boy"

In an instant, Byakuya disappeared from sight.

'He's gone!'

Ichigo's mind traveled back to the last time, when the man had moved so fast he hadn't even been aware that the Captain had moved in the first place. But things were different now.

Ichigo saw a flash, he quickly moved his sword to his back, there was burst of sparks as Byakuya's sword slammed tip first into the broad side of Zangetsu.

The Captain of the 6th squad's eyes widened with utter surprise, he'd fully expected things to play out just like last time, but it seemed things were not to be.

"I can see you now, Byakuya Kuchiki"

With a whirlwind of movement, Ichigo spun himself around and brought his zanpaktou in a wide horizontal slash. Byakuya managed to parry the blow, but the clash of the two sent shockwaves through the air, again the boy had surprised Byakuya.

"Well what do you think, Kuchiki?" asked Ichigo, "surprised?"

"Don't get so confident over a little luck, fool"

"Then maybe you'd like to find out, if it was just luck" Ichigo shot back,

Without warning, the substitute shinigami lunged forth, swinging Zangetsu as he went. But his blade hit only air as the Captain disappeared yet again, but Ichigo could see the man, he could see the blade.

He spun himself around and raised his blade, a spray of sparks and they were locked together once again.

"No way," said Hanataro as he watched the two combatants clash, "Ichigo is fighting on level ground with Captain Kuchiki"

'It's true, Ichigo has gotten much stronger, just the fact that he's lasted so long is amazing,' thought Rukia, 'but this is only the tip of brother's power, Shunpo is nothing to him!'

Ichigo jumped back after Byakuya had parried his latest attack and attempted to riposte.

"I see," said Byakuya, "it is apparent that you have improved a great deal, you leave me no choice. Before you become too confident in yourself, I will show you…"

"Run Ichigo!" cried Rukia,

"…the decisive gap between us that you could never hope to cross, even in a thousand years.

"**Scatter**"

Byakuya's sword began to take on a pinkish hue,

"**Senbon-**"

Before the words could be finished, a white cloth jumped out from the air and wrapped itself around the Captain's sword, covering the entire blade and effectively stopping the process.

Yoruichi appeared along with it, her hand holding the cloth that held the Captain's sword.

"You!" said Byakuya, his eyes wide with shock,

"It's been a long time, little Byakuya," said Yoruichi,

"Yoruichi Shihouin," the Captain spat,

With a single move Byakuya tore the cloth holding his blade,

"The former Captain of the 2nds squad and Special operations, I haven't seen you in a while," said Byakuya, "It has been a hundred and four years since you disappeared. I thought you were dead."

"Yoruichi? What are you doing here? Where's Kuroda?" asked Ichigo,

"Elsewhere, preparing," she replied,

"Yoruichi Shihouin?" Captain Ukitake asked aloud, "and Kuroda?"

"Look," said Ichigo, "thank you for coming to help, but I need you to step aside for-"

His sentence was suddenly cut off when Yoruichi delivered a powerful punch straight to his stomach, Ichigo was only awake for another second before his shoulders slouched and he fell into Yoruichi's waiting arms.

"Sorry Ichigo, but you're not ready to fight him just yet," she whispered, catching him just before he fell to the ground.

"It's a drug isn't?" asked Captain Ukitake as the purple haired women put the young man over her shoulder, "you administered a drug directly into his organs, something that knocked him out. What are you going to do with him?"

"It matters not," cut in Byakuya, "nothing you do can help him, you cannot escape now."

"Oh? Since when did you start talking so big?" teased Yoruichi, "as I recall, you never even beat me in a game of tag, let alone in a simple sparring match."

"Shall we try again?"

In the blink of an eye, both of them zipped across the bridge at blinding speeds, disappearing, then reappearing again and again.

Byakuya lashed out at Yoruichi with his katana only for her to easily pivot away.

The two ran at each other, in a brief sprint, Yoruichi shunpo'd past Byakuya, avoiding him completely. As she began to land back on the ground, the captain of the 6th squad suddenly appeared beside her.

"Did you really think you could escape with such a low level Shunpo?"

There was a flash of steel and Yoruichi fell to the ground; her chest bleeding heavily as the life drained from her eyes.

Byakuya's face as he watched his past mentor fall was one of smug arrogance.

But his victory was short live, Yoruichi's image suddenly burst into a dozen pieces of paper.

The real Yoruichi reappeared, perched on his arm like a cat on a tree branch.

"Did you really think you could catch with such a low level Shunpo?" she teased,

With another burst of speed, she launched herself off of his arm and next to Kuroda on top of the building.

"Three days," she called, "In three days, I will have made this boy stronger then you. Perhaps it's a bit selfish, but I will postpone the fight between the both of you until then. You may try to follow of course, but, The Flash Goddess will not be caught so easily and I doubt my body guard will let you get very close."

With that, the woman disappeared, dashing across the roof tops with incredible speed until finally, she was all but gone to the Captain's senses.

"Looks like they got away," Captain Ukitake commented, almost happily,

Without a word, Captain Kuchiki sheathed his zanpaktou and calmly walked away from the scene.

"Oi" called Ukitake, "where are you going Byakuya? Didn't you come to apprehend the ryoka?"

"I've lost my interest," replied the nobleman, "do with them as you wish."

Ukitake watched until Captain Kuchiki was out of sight before releasing a heavy sigh. As he had thought, the young captain had only come because the "traitor" was in danger of being released.

"He always does whatever he wants," muttered the white haired Captain,

#!*(%^)!(*#%^)!(#%*^!)(%*^!)#(*%^(!)#*%^)#(%^*)#(%*^)#%)#*(%^)#(%^*)

Before long, Yoruichi managed to reach their hideout, unharmed and relatively safe. She carefully dropped the orange haired substitute on the ground, panting heavily from her exertion a few minutes ago.

Sweat glistened on her dark skin and dripped down her neck as she leaned against the stone wall to recuperate.

"It must be because I haven't fought anyone for a very long time," she reasoned with herself, "at least, anyone strong enough to push me to my limits. I'm having a hard time after only one or two hundred Shunpo's, I've definitely gotten out of practice."

After a few minutes, her heart beat slowed down to a steady pace and she felt energy return to her limbs. In order to limber herself out a bit, she decided to do a bit of stretching, starting with her arms, then her legs.

As she started doing a few lunges, Kuroda's head suddenly popped out from the ground, via hidden trap door. He climbed out after seeing that Yoruichi was in the hideout, on his way up he noticed Ichigo resting on the floor and deduced that Yoruichi had to resort to knocking him out.

"Hey," he called when he was totally out,

"Hey" replied the purple haired woman as she continued stretching, "how'd things go on your end?"

"Fine, everything's set up and it looks like the place is still intact, I couldn't even tell we'd left it alone for a century," he answered, "you?"

"Not as great as I'd like" she replied as she finished, "I had a run in with Byakuya, you can see that I had to knock out Ichigo to get away."

"Yeah, I can see that," he said with a tinge of humor, "you look tired, are you alright?"

"It's just been a while since I've used Shunpo over such a long distance," she explained,

"You should rest," he suggested,

"I'll be fine," she said immediately,

"No, you won't," he insisted, without warning he slipped off his cloak and threw it to her, "you can use it as a blanket, or pillow, I don't care. Just get some rest, I'll keep watch."

Yoruichi started to voice a protest but immediately stopped when she saw the look in Kuroda's eyes that clearly said he wouldn't take no for an answer. To be honest, she found it kind of sweet that he cared for her wellbeing.

With a submissive sigh, she bundled up his cloak as a makeshift pillow and laid her head on top of it.

"Thanks," she said to him as he turned around,

"Don't mention it,"

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine," he replied hesitantly,

"Just rest," he said before stepping outside the barrier,

Yoruichi smirked as she settled down on his cloak, not surprisingly, it smelled a lot like him. Though not many people knew it, but everyone had a distinct scent. Yoruichi being attuned to her feline side, could pick up every single person's scent on a whim.

Kuroda, smelled nice.

(#%(^%)(*#%&)(*&%)&%)#(*&%)#(%*&)#%&(#*%&)(*%&)##(*%&#()%&*)

"Why do I feel like I've just been violated," Kuroda asked himself,

He decided to just shrug off the weird feeling and return to staring at the stars above. It was rare these days that he was allowed such a nice view. His life in Karakura town meant that he was constantly surrounded by artificial lights that choked out the natural, thus he never really got a good view of the stars.

But here, in the Soul Society, the stars were as clear as the hair on his head. They seemed to dot the sky like some sort of abstract piece of art, one of those that the artist never revealed the meaning to, he kind of just let you try and figure it out.

So many years and Kuroda still hadn't found out what he found so interesting about the stars. Maybe it was their brightness, maybe it was the fact that they were so far away, yet he could still see them, or maybe it was simply because he envied their ability to just stay in one place and go with whatever happened to them. Unlike him, they never had to worry about some unexpected calamity befalling them, they just sat around and lived their time.

He sighed for no apparent reason,

His body felt heavy for some reason. The cool wind that caressed his skin was of some comfort, he always preferred the cold.

_Kuroda, are you alright?_

"I'm fine," he whispered,

_Still thinking about your Lieutenant?_

"Which one?"

_You know, the one from before, the one who's dead._

"oh, no, I wasn't until now."

_Crap, my bad_

"It's alright," he lied, "I would have ended up thinking about him anyway."

It would be a few hours before Yoruichi woke up and when she did she found Kuroda sitting just a few feet away, leaning up against the cold stone wall. He'd fallen asleep only an hour after she had, it had been a relatively rough day for him.

There was a light shuffle to her left, she turned to see that it was in fact Ichigo, most likely waking up after the effects of the drug had worn off.

Though she knew he could probably use the sleep, she forced herself to get up and shake Kuroda awake.

"Oi, Kuroda, time to wake up," she whispered,

"Hmm?"

"Come one, wake up," she whispered again,

"Okay, okay," he said wearily as he stood up,

"ugggh," groaned Ichigo,

"Guess who's awake," she joked,

"Me and him," replied Kuroda humorlessly,

"You're no fun when you wake up," she teased, "not a morning person?"

"It's the middle of the night,"

"Close, really early morning,"

"Whatever,"

"Ugh," moaned Ichigo, his eyes finally fluttering open,

"Morning sunshine," said Yoruichi,

"Where am I?" he asked groggily,

His eyes suddenly widened as he recalled what had happened. He'd been fighting Byakuya, then Yoruichi came, then, she knocked him out.

Rage was immediate, and it spread through his body like a virus.

"What the hell!" he screamed, immediately jumping to his feet, "Why? Why did you only take me back!"

"I had the best chance of surviving back there," he yelled angrily, "Now Ganju, Hanatarou, even Rukia might be killed!"

"Calm down Ichigo," ordered Kuroda, "there's no way you would have survived a fight against Byakuya."

"Why you-"

Ichigo's protest was abruptly interrupted as Kuroda's hand shot out and placed the tips of his fingers against Ichigo's side.

"Especially not in your condition,"

A small amount of pressure and Ichigo was on the floor, keeling over from the pain alone. He immediately went into an uncontrollable coughing fit, clutching his side as the pain attacked him unendingly.

"Unless you want those wounds to reopen I suggest you stop making such a fuss," said Yoruichi,

"Shut up," Ichigo shot back weakly through his coughs,

"In order to out run Byakuya, I could only carry one person," explained Yoruichi,

"Then why not Rukia, instead of me?" asked Ichigo,

"If I had taken Rukia instead of you, Byakuya would have pursued us to no end," explained Yoruichi, "Kuroda could most definitely defeat him, but the fight would attract way too much attention."

"I can't take on the entire Gotei 13," said Kuroda, "then we'd all die."

"Which is why I had to take you back, it may be possible for you to take down Byakuya," continued Yoruichi,

"What about the others?" asked Ichigo,

"Don't worry," said Kuroda, "I happen to have a plan to deal with the rest of the Gotei 13, but unless you want to watch from the side lines. We need you as well."

"But Rukia-"

"Don't worry," interrupted Yoruichi, "Captain Ukitake was there as well, he's Rukia's superior and a good man. He won't let any harm come to her, Ganju, or Hanataro. You won't have to worry about them. Right now, you just have to get stronger."

"I couldn't have said it better," added Kuroda, "Ichigo Kurosaki,"

Ichigo turned to him expectantly,

"In these three days, I will train you, so that you may win."

(#)%&*#()*%&()#%*&#%&_#(*%_#()_%(*_)#(%&_#)

Together the three of them descended down the ladder and into the underground cavern that had been so cleverly dug out of the mountain's innards.

Ichigo was awed at the incredibly large room, though he felt a sense of familiarity.

"Are your wounds feeling better?" asked Kuroda as he led them to the middle of the cavern,

"Yeah, a lot better," replied Ichigo,

"Then there's no time to waste, are you ready to train?" asked Kuroda,

"Do you even have to ask?" replied Ichigo, the substitute grabbed Zangetsu by the handle and hefted it onto his shoulder.

Kuroda stared at the young substitute shinigami and saw the fire of determination burned in his eyes, the kind that few ever saw, and even fewer experienced themselves. It was something that told others that no matter what happened, this person would push on. That alone was enough to make Kuroda believe that this wouldn't be a mistake.

"I'd like to know, why does this place seem so familiar?" asked Ichigo,

"This is the first time we've let someone else in here," replied Yoruichi from the side, "it probably reminds of you that place under Kisuke's shop."

"Hmm, yeah, I guess you're right," said Ichigo,

"Anyway, let's get started," he decided as he let the wrappings on Zangetsu fall off.

"Good, but first, let me ask you something," decided Kuroda, "have you ever noticed that your zanpaktou is always in its released form?"

"Really?" asked Ichigo, staring down at his oversized zanpaktou, "if it's always in it's released form, it must be like Kenpachi's. I did think that it was a little weird that it had a different shape than everyone else's."

"Good, you noticed," Kuroda said in a satisfied manner, "but what you probably didn't know, is that there is one more level of release for Zangetsu."

"Eh?"

"Time for you to learn more about the weapon you wield," decided Kuroda, "Now is a good time to start."

"Zangetsu, along with all other zanpaktou, have two types of releases," he explained, "The first is what you currently have now, called Shikai. The second is called, Bankai, it is the zanpaktou's truest form. In order to become a Captain, a shinigami has to master both."

"Truest form?" asked Ichigo,

"Yes, the absolute manifestation of the zanpaktou. All captains can do a Bankai release," continued Kuroda, "with one exception, Zaraki Kenpachi."

Ichigo's eyes widened as his mind went back to his fight with the battle loving, blood lusting, psychotic Captain.

"In the entire history of Soul Society, he is the only one to ever become a Captain without knowing the name of his zanpaktou. I imagine the Gotei 13 found his brute strength and devotion to battle highly desirable. You fought with him, so you already know this."

"The power and form of one's shikai and bankai vary from Zanpaktou to zanpaktou and the strength of the wielder, but generally, the activation of one's bankai increases the user's power by at least five to ten times more."

"Ten times," Ichigo whispered in awe, now he understood why he stood no chance against Byakuya.

"Scared?"

"Hell no, I'm excited," grinned Ichigo,

"That's what I like to hear. Now usually, one has to train for at least ten years to attain Bankai, but of course we don't have that kind of time. So we're going to use a different way, one that will allow you to learn Bankai in, three days."

"Three days?"

"Yeah, provided, it doesn't kill you."

**End**

**A/N**

**Well, there you have it, this is the chapter. I deeply apologize for the lack of any action, but I felt that this was a time to start setting things up, start pacing. The next chapter will be much better, I promise.**

**There are two subjects I'd like to address today.**

**First, I went back and read some of my work and I got to say, "what the F%&#!"**

**I apologize for anyone who had to suffer through chapter 2, that was a horrible horrible mistake on my part. I'm really sorry. I don't know what the hell I was thinking, the writing was absolutely horrible, even I wouldn't read that and I wrote it! I will in fact, at some point, be going back and rewriting chapter 2, so that it is much much better.**

**I plan I doing it about the time I finish with the Soul Society arc.**

**Second, I'm a busy guy. I have a lot on my plate at the moment. While I don't know how wise of a decision this is, I'm going to do it anyway. I'm going to ask you, the reader, if you feel like it, to give your own OC's, which I will put in my story.**

**Now I know what you're thinking and I want you to stop thinking it! Perverted sicko's, oh wait, was that just me? Never mind,**

**In anycase, I have the ability to create big characters, ones that will be important to the story, examples would be like Rajin, he's going to be an important character. What I don't have the ability to do, is come up with less significant characters.**

**So I need your help.**

**If you feel up to it, give me an OC submission and if I deem it good enough, I'm going to put it in my story somehow.**

**Now, be warned, once you give me your OC, it's mine. I get to do whatever I want with it, like kill that OC off, preferably in some sort of epic way. Remember that, I don't want any complaining about how I killed your character, not all of them will die of course, but come on, this is Bleach, people die!**

**Here's a guidline to your submission, please, please, please, send this via message, NOT REVIEW! I hate that.**

**OC submission guide**

**At the moment, I'm looking for some shinigami to add to my Black op's group and some fraccion Arrancar, as a side note, this may be a spoiler of things to come.**

**OC Name:**

**Appearance: (Hair color, hair characteristics, fat, skinny, muscular, feminine, manly, eye color, etc)**

**Personality: (Short tempered, arrogant, easy going, depressing, jolly, etc) Be descriptive**

**Some History: (Place of birth, origins, just a general back story)**

**Powers &Abilities: Swordsmanship, Shunpo/Sonido, Hakuda, Kido(if applicable), Spirit pressure, zanpaktou,etc**

**I may write to you to ask for more info, if you need a better guide, I suggest going to Bleach wiki and seeing how they do it.**

**That's all I really wanted to talk about. Thank you for reading.**

**Please review, subscribe, and tell your friends!**

**Omake time!**

**It had been a while now and Rajin and Kaito were almost done recovering from their wounds, but Unohana insisted that they stay at the hospital a little longer and no one resisted Unohana when she "insisted" something.**

**Rajin took this free time to reflect on his past. As he set in bed, he held what was perhaps the most precious book in his entire collection. His book of memories, in it were countless pictures of countless times he cherished.**

**He smiled as he flipped through the pages.**

**There was a photo of him, Kaito, and Kuroda lounging around a waterfall.**

**There was a photo of their graduation from the Academy**

**There was a photo of Yoruichi teasing Kuroda (Score!)**

**There was a photo of Kaito failing his first attempt at kido**

**One of his most cherished photos was one of him and Captain Soi Fon at the Academy, of course back then she wasn't a Captain.**

**He smiled cheerily at the embarrassed look on her face as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulled her in and made a peace sign at the camera. If he recalled correctly, she had a copy as well.**

"**Oi, what are you doing?" asked Kaito, suddenly popping up in his peripheral vision**

"**Oh, nothing really, just looking through some memories," he replied, partially hoping the wild man would lose interest and go away,**

"**Hey, is that you and your girlfriend?" asked Kaito, pointing at the picture of his and Soi Fon,**

"**She's not my girlfriend," replied Rajin,**

"**She sure seems like your girlfriend. No need to hide it man, she's a hot chick, a bit shy in the chest region but she is F-I-N-E ,FINE!"**

"**Will you please be quit,"**

"**You tapped her yet?" asked Kaito devilishly, giving an elbow jab to his friend's side while raising his eyebrows,**

"**Wha-, No!"**

"**Oh? How sad, poor Rajin is still a virgin!"**

"…**you're a virgin too,"**

"**I am not!"**

"**I happen to know that you are, as there has not been a single day you have walked out of your room and screamed, 'I'm not a virgin anymore!'"**

"**Well, maybe I am, but worry not, for my first time will be with the lovely Rang-"**

**SMACK!**

**Rajin hit Kaito on the back of the head with his book,**

"**Oh shut up, no one cares,"**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hi everyone, nice to see you again, not much to say this time around. But I do have one thing to say. I'm considering making another story. I know I probably shouldn't, what with this one still not complete but I kind of want to do this other one I've been thinking about too. I guess I'd kind of like your opinion on it, it's a story where the main character is an Arrancar. I've been developing him as long as I've been developing Kuroda, he's an interesting guy.**

**Anyway, here's the story.**

Chapter 17

Step 3: Pour on the Gas

Ichigo stood on the barren, rocky ground of Yoruichi's training grounds, trying to digest what he'd just been told.

"Provided it doesn't kill you" was what Kuroda had said.

This training could actually kill him; he could die before even trying to save Rukia. He swallowed hard, this was almost as bad as fighting Kenpachi again.

"**Do not be afraid, Ichigo", called the deep voice of Zangetsu, "remember my words."**

"_Of course, old man,"_

"You think you can handle it?" asked Kuroda, testing the boy's resolve.

"What kind of question is that?" Ichigo shot back, "of course I can! I don't have time to think about myself, I've got get strong and save Rukia!"

"Good, now let me explain how we'll be doing this," said Kuroda, "to be able to transform from Shikai, to Bankai, usually one will train for extended periods of time over the years. But since we're on a tight schedule, we'll need to get you a special training partner."

"What? You mean I'm not going to train with you?"

"Of course not, we need someone who understands you, inside and out," replied Kuroda, "Yoruichi, please show Ichigo his training partner."

Ichigo turned to see the purple haired woman carrying an odd, very angular looking doll.

"What's with the weird looking dummy?" asked Ichigo, very confused,

"It's a Tenshintai," explained Yoruichi, "a rare artifact from the Special Operations division, "it forcibly transforms one's Zanpaktou into its true form"

"Huh?"

"It lets you interact with your zanpaktou's spirit" explained Kuroda,

"Oh, I see, but why do I need that for Bankai training?" asked Ichigo,

"Bankai requires interaction and synchronization between a shinigami and zanpaktou. It is, in essence, the opposite of a shinigami going into the zanpaktou's world. It requires the zanpaktou spirit to materialize into our world and become submissive to our will. By materialize, I mean bring the zanpaktou spirit into our world at will. You've interacted with Zangetsu in our world before, haven't you?"

"Yeah, but only for really brief moments of time," explained Ichigo, "and usually, it's the old man's call."

"Exactly, bankai requires you to be able to bring out Zangetsu at your call," summarized Yoruichi, "this usually takes 10 years of intense training. But with the Tenshintai, we can speed up the process, to now."

"Really?"

"Really, by stabbing Zangetsu into this doll, he will materialize. He will stay that way as long as you will him to do so. But there is a catch," she explained, "no one can do this, for more than 3 days. Beyond that, the strain will kill you."

"I see," said Ichigo, "then in that time, I have to beat Zangetsu into submission."

"Exactly,"

Without warning, Ichigo leaped forward and lanced his Zanpaktou into the doll.

"Then let's get started,"

In a bright flash of dark red light, both the doll and Zangetsu disappeared, causing a massive gust of wind to echo through the cavern. A new presence entered the training grounds.

Ichigo turned around, to see the materialization of Zangetsu, the dark middle aged man with a black cloak wrapped around him.

"It seems you have discovered quite a bit, Ichigo," the spirit said in it's deep, booming voice.

"Old man…"

"You heard what we're doing, right?" Kuroda asked the spirit,

"Of course," replied Zangetsu,

"Then I leave him in your capable hands," said Kuroda, "when will you start?"

"Now,"

The spirit of Zangetsu knelt down to the earth and touched the palm of his hand to it. The cavern began to shake as though an earthquake were coming, the shaking become more violent, then even more and more until suddenly, it was gone.

Suddenly a thousand swords, shot out from the earth, spreading themselves across the cavern like a thousand graves. Each bore similar characteristics to Ichigo's original Zangetsu, but all were differently shaped. Some were wave like, others jagged, some were even had a blunt nose.

"What is this?" asked Ichigo,

"In all of these swords, lies the true me," explained Zangetsu, "the only way to defeat me, is with that sword. You must find it, before I kill you."

As if signaled by some sort of invisible cue, both spirit and shinigami leapt back from each other both grabbing the nearest sword they could find.

When both were armed, both charged at each other, sword in hand. The blades smashed into each other, locking the two of them together in a struggle for dominance.

Ichigo was the first to break the struggle, he pushed the spirit away and leapt back. He prepared himself for another attack when Zangetsu suddenly lunged forth and swung his sword at Ichigo.

The substitute shinigami raised his sword just in time, the blades smashed together. But in the blink of an eye, Ichigo's sword shattered into thousand pieces. The pure force of the impact sent Ichigo tumbling across the ground.

"That, was the wrong one," said Zangetsu as he walked towards the fallen boy,

Ichigo quickly pushed himself up and grabbed the nearest blade he could find, Zangetsu charged again.

Ichigo met him head on, their blades smashed together and once again Ichigo's was the only one to break. Zangetsu gave him no quarter, he swung his own sword again. The young shinigami rolled out of the way just in time to miss the tip of the sword.

He leapt away in an effort to get some distance between him and his opponent. As he jumped he grabbed another sword from the ground.

As soon as he landed, Zangetsu swooped down on him like a hawk. Ichigo swung the sword, and yet again, it shattered in his hands.

Ichigo quickly jumped away, discarding the useless handle as he did.

He turned tail and ran, hoping to gain a little more time to find the right sword.

(#(%*&)(%*&)*(#%&)(#*%&)%#)&*#)(%*&)#%(*^()#(%)

Meanwhile,

Orihime sat nervously in her chair, holding her hands together in a sort of silent prayer that everything would be okay. Around he sat three men and one pink haired little girl.

Orihime had thought it strange that she hadn't been taken to a jail cell like the others but the largest man in the room, Zaraki Kenpachi, had explained it all.

"So, Orihime," said the man named Ikkaku, "how about it? Is he still alive?"

"She's beautiful," whispered Yumichika, his voice tinged with jealousy,

"Is Ichigo still alive?"

"I want to believe he's still alive," she whispered, "No, I know he's still alive."

"Heh," chuckled Zaraki, "Oh he's alive, I can feel it. That Kuroda wouldn't let his protégé die so easily."

"Kuroda? He's with Ichigo?" asked Orihime, "then he's definitely alive, Kuroda would never let anything bad happen to Ichigo."

"Tell you what girl, I'm gonna lend you and yours a hand, maybe I'll get to run into those two again, after all, Kuroda still owes me," smiled Kenpachi, "let's go!"

"Aye aye sir!"

"Yes sir!"

(#(%*^)(#*%^)(#%*&)(*%&)#%&*#)%(*^)#%)

Ichigo went flying as his latest clash with Zangetsu again ended with the blade simply breaking under the strain of their combat.

By now he'd sustained a wound to his forehead, letting blood flow freely down his face. He quickly turned again and ran for the nearest cluster of swords.

"18th one," declared Zangetsu as he dashed after shinigami,

Ichigo kept running, his eyes darting frantically through the endless forest of swords, looking for the true Zangetsu. All these other blades were useless and kept breaking, he needed to find the real one otherwise he'd end up as chopped berry.

Suddenly, his eyes spied a sword that looked exactly like his own Zangetsu.

"That one," he exclaimed,

He reached out and wrenched it from the ground, "It's got to be this one!"

By now Zangetsu was upon him.

Ichigo swung his sword with all his might, the blades made contact and,

It broke.

Just like the previous dozen, the blade shattered into pieces, leaving Ichigo with nothing more than the handle.

So great was his shock, that he couldn't jump out of the way when Zangetsu swung his sword again, this time catching Ichigo clear across the chest.

Blood spurted from the new wound as Ichigo stumbled backwards. He fell to his knees as the warm sticky liquid began to pool on the ground.

"All the swords here are pieces of your soul Ichigo, in this fight, you must find the pieces that represent your will to fight! The fragment you just used was a fragile part of your soul that relied too much on me,"

'Frail? Too dependent?' asked Ichigo,

"If you do not have the will to fight me, then don't even try to obtain Bankai!"

Ichigo gritted his teeth in frustration.

"You're saying these are pieces of my soul?" he asked, "then I'll use them all! And focus them into beating you!"

With renewed vigor, Ichigo tore the nearest sword from the ground and charged.

*$%^)(#$*%&)(*%^)$(*^%)(*%^)$^$%&_$%&*(_($&%^)

"He seems to be doing well," commented Kuroda as he watched Ichigo and Zangetsu exchange more blows,

Yoruichi grunted in agreement, "do you really think he will be able to survive the training?"

"I do, Ichigo is tough in nothing else, his level of endurance is perfect for this kind of training," replied Kuroda, "what we really have to worry about is getting him to stop for a break."

"Ha! You do have a sense of humor," she laughed,

"I'm serious," he replied, with a very deadpan face, "in any case, this is a good time."

"Hm, good time for what?" she asked,

Kuroda suddenly shunpo'd forward and brought a fist down at Yoruichi, the ground exploded under the force of his blow. When the dust cleared, Yoruichi was nowhere to be found.

"Missed," he muttered,

"Oh, so now you're going to train me?" asked Yoruichi,

Kuroda turned around to see Yoruichi standing on a tall rock, completely unscathed and her demeanor totally casual.

"You said it yourself," he reminded her, "you're out of shape because you haven't fought anyone powerful in a while, this is a good time for me to get you back into the swing of things."

"Is that so?" she asked, "well, I guess I could kill a few hours while Ichigo trains."

"Kill a few hours huh?" Kuroda reached up to his right arm, his fingers grabbed the first band and pulled it off. His reiatsu flared, cracking the stones that surrounded him, but only cracking. Kuroda took a deep breath as he pushed his own reiatsu down until it was low enough that it wouldn't give off any significant signal.

"Hoho, I see we're very serious about this training," laughed Yoruichi in a rather comical, head thrown back kind of way, when she turned her attention back to Kuroda, she found that he was gone.

"Yeah, we're real serious," she heard,

A second later, the rock she stood on was demolished, thankfully she'd managed to Shunpo out of the way just in time.

On the pile of rubble stood Kuroda, though his sword wasn't drawn, he stood in a fighting position, fists up and ready for use.

Yoruichi gave a small chuckle,

"Just like old times," she whispered before dropping into her own fighting stance, "I'll warn you now, I'm not going to go easy on you."

Kuroda vanished and reappeared behind her, "not me you have to worry about."

He brought his elbow around in an attempt to catch her with a swipe, but she easily dodged and swept his legs from underneath him.

Kuroda saw that she was smiling while she did it too, how rude. As he fell to the ground, his arm shot out and grabbed Yoruichi, snaking it's way around her neck and trapping it in the crook of his elbow, bringing her down with him.

But Yoruichi was no amateur to battle, her arms quickly caught her from falling face down into the ground, just inches away from it.

"Nice move," she said, apparently unconcerned with her current predicament,

"Thanks,"

"But I've got a trick or two as well," she said, without warning she pushed herself up, causing both of them to jump back up to the standing position.

Kuroda quickly leapt away as he did, Yoruichi leapt forward, fist drawn back.

Her hand sprung forth only to be caught by Kuroda just before it could reach his chest. As they landed on the ground, Kuroda kicked up his feet and flung Yoruichi over him.

The ex-commander then hurriedly spun on to his feet, only to be met with a flying kick aimed straight for his face. His arms quickly rose up and caught the kick but the force of it was strong enough that he went skidding back anyway.

"Not yet!" called Yoruichi,

Kuroda was forced to raise his arms again as he came under a furious barrage of kicks, Yoruichi was practically walking on top of him there were so many kicks.

When she finally landed back on the ground, she followed up with a powerful punch. Kuroda moved himself out of the way just in time, Yoruichi's fist smashed into a boulder behind him and shattered into a dozen pieces.

Kuroda let out a low whistle, "guess you're not **that** out of shape."

"I think you'd know that better than anyone," teased Yoruichi, "did you like the view while we were jumping across the roof tops?"

Kuroda responded by leaping forward and letting loose a quick barrage of jabs, all of them were either blocked or dodged. But that was to be expected.

After parrying his latest attack, Yoruichi let loose a powerful round house kick to his side. Kuroda raised his hand and caught the kick, though it strained him to do so. Thinking quickly he used his opposite hand to grab the woman by the ankle and pulled, Yoruichi was forced off balance and left to fall.

But once again, her years of experience saved her, her hands shot out beneath her and caught her before she could take the fall. She then used her free foot to kick out at Kuroda, the man was forced to let go of her foot to save himself. He managed to block the first kick, the second one too, except that one made him fall down.

Yoruichi pounced onto him like a cat, straddled him at the waist, and pinned both of his arms to the side.

"So, do I win?" she asked devilishly,

"No," Kuroda replied bluntly, "it's not over, until one of us gives up."

"Awww," she cooed, "but I'd have to move to make you do that and I really like this position."

It took Kuroda a few moments to understand the implication, when he finally did, his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"you know, we could have some fun, right here, right now," she whispered into her ear,

Kuroda felt his face heat up even more, it was getting hard for him to keep a straight face.

"Oh, do you like the idea?" she as she took a hand off of his arm to trace a finger along his jaw,

Okay, really hot face right now.

"B-Bakudo No.1: Sai!" he managed to stutter out,

Almost immediately, Yoruichi was seized by a pair of invisible hands that forcibly restrained her hands behind her back and caused her to fall helplessly on top of Kuroda's chest.

Kuroda let out a small sigh of relief.

Yoruichi shouted something but was muffled by his shirt. The ex-commander gently rolled her off of him and to the side.

"Sorry, what?"

"I said 'that's not fair,'" she repeated, a little pissed off.

"It's a fight, nothings fair," he countered as he dusted himself off and got back to his feet.

"Oh really?" she asked devilishly,

In a display of raw strength, Yoruichi burst out from the spell and jumped to her feet.

"Hado No.31: Shakkaho!"

A bright red orb shout out from the woman's hand like a miniature cannonball. Kuroda easily smacked it aside with his bare hand but failed to notice Yoruichi sneaking up on him. By the time he realized the ploy, Yoruichi was already in motion.

Yoruichi dropped down on him with a powerful drop kick, Kuroda raised his arms up high. But the blow never came. Instead, Kuroda received a firm boot to his back which sent him tumbling across the ground.

"This is a fight right?" he heard her call, "anything is fair."

"Yeah, looks that way," he replied as he stood back up,

#)(%*#()%^*)#%(*^)#%(*^)#^%_+#%&*_#%_#%*^_%&*())#(*%^)

Hours passed in the underground training cavern. While Ichigo and the spirit of Zangetsu sparred to give Ichigo the power he would need, Yoruichi and Kuroda sparred against one another to keep their skills sharp. It was a tiring day for both parties.

But it was also one that bore fruit.

Ichigo had improved dramatically.

The substitute shinigami raised his blade to block an oncoming attack, as usual the blade broke, but this time it did not shatter. It only snapped.

As he skidded backwards, his hand snapped out and grabbed a nearby blade.

"51st," announced Zangetsu,

"Here I come," shouted Ichigo,

He charged forth.

Zangetsu swung his blade.

Ichigo raised his own, the blades collided but stayed intact, the orange haired boy let the blade skid off his own and let the attack fly over his head.

Ichigo saw his opening, he lunged forth was his blade, driving its tip at the spirit.

Zangetsu, taken by surprise, barely had enough time to jump and avoid the attack. The force of the attack was strong enough to smash right through a solid boulder that Zangetsu had been standing in front of.

When he dropped back down, used his own sword to chop down and break Ichigo's blade once more. The orange haired shinigami watched the pieces of his blade scatter through the air.

Zangetsu suddenly back handed the boy sending him colliding into a rock wall.

"Do not take your eyes of your opponent," warned Zangetsu, "not even for a moment."

Ichigo shakily raised himself from the rubble.

"That, was the 52nd," announced Zangetsu,

Ichigo grabbed another sword.

The two charged at each other and clashed once more, their struggle sending out powerful gusts of wind throughout the cavern.

'I've got to win!' Ichigo reminded himself, 'I've got to save Rukia!'

The two broke the lock and began to furiously exchange blows, Ichigo was beginning to match Zangetsu strike for strike, slash for slash, blow for blow. It was almost frightening to see how quickly he was progressing.

The two exchanged one more blow before leaping away from one another.

"Here I come!"

The two combatants charged towards one another once again. Ichigo focused his entire being into this single clash, adamant in taking down Zangetsu with this final exchange.

With a savage battle cry he sped up his charge, sword raised over his head, the two were in striking distance of each other, Ichigo prepared to swing at…a doll?

The doll that had previously been Zangetsu, dropped to the floor.

"Huh?" Ichigo exclaimed, completely bewildered,

"That's enough for today, Ichigo," he heard Kuroda call, "you did well for your first day. It's time to rest and let all that training sink in."

"Wait, please let me keep going," begged Ichigo, "I'm getting somewhere, I can feel it!"

"Calm down Ichigo, it's not a problem of whether or not you've improved," said Kuroda, "but you need to rest, your body is strained after having to undergo such vigorous training while it's under the stat it is."

Ichigo seemed to calm a bit at Kuroda's words, finally he gave a nod and dropped his sword.

"I guess I could use a break," he decided,

"There's a hot spring over on the farside," said Kuroda, pointing to the west side of the cavern, "you can use it to clean yourself off. After that I'll make something to eat."

"Sure, sounds good," replied Ichigo as he headed for the springs.

A few minutes later, Ichigo and Kuroda were soaking in heavenly bliss.

Ichigo let out a long sigh of relief,

"Ah, man, I didn't even know that it was night already, it's so hard to tell the time of day down here," said Ichigo,

"Don't worry, you get used to it," replied Kuroda,

Ichigo cupped a bit of water in his hands and splashed it on his face, trying to rub out some of the tiredness that had built up in him.

"Huh?"

"What is it?" asked Kuroda,

"The scratch on my cheek, it's healing," said Ichigo,

"Oh yeah, the water does that," Kuroda explained nonchalantly,

"Whoa, that's awesome!" cried Ichigo, he immediately began splashing as much water as humanly possible onto himself, "whoa, whoa! Whoa!"

"Calm down," muttered Kuroda,

"I wonder what would happen if I drank it," said Ichigo,

"Do you really want to drink your own-"

Ichigo took a big gulp of water,

"Apparently you do," said Kuroda, his question answered,

"Hey boys," called Yoruichi, "how's the water?"

Ichigo called something indiscernible,

"He says 'yes'" translated Kuroda

"I see, that's good," said Yoruichi, a small amount of deviousness in her voice,

"that doesn't sound good," whispered Kuroda,

"In fact I think I'll take a little dip myself,"

Ichigo spat out all the water he had stored in his mouth, Kuroda frowned and rolled his eyes.

"Wha- Is she serious?" asked Ichigo,

"Yup,"

"What! NO!" screamed Ichigo,

"What's the matter, it's alright isn't it?" teased Yoruichi,

"NO! IT'S NOT ALRIGHT!" yelled Ichigo,

Kuroda threw Ichigo a towel,

"Use that to shield your eyes," Kuroda commanded nonchalantly,

"What? You're letting her in?"

"No stopping her once she decides to do something," explained Kuroda,

Ichigo squealed and quickly wrapped the towel around his eyes,

There was the sound of someone entering the water and then a rather deep voice saying, "shouldn't be a problem if I'm like this right?"

Ichigo peeked through the towel and saw that Yoruichi had changed back to cat form and was now casually paddling her way through the water.

"What's the matter?" asked Yoruichi when she saw Ichigo's surprised face, "disappointed are we? Well, be honest, you are aren't you? Pervert,"

"I am going to drown you!" threatened Ichigo,

"Calm down Ichigo, you'll get used to her," said Kuroda, obviously not bothered by Yoruichi's tease.

"Indeed, like Kuroda, you'll see my body so many times that you'll become used the sight and won't be bothered by-"

"That is not what a meant!" shouted Kuroda,

"Oh, but you are used to seeing my body aren't you?"

"I am not! I always look away when you start streaking!" he protested,

"Really? I'm kind of disappointed," she said, feigning sadness,

"Oh be quite,"

"Hey, this reminds me about something I've been meaning to ask you," Ichigo cut in, "are you two like, I don't know, together?"

"What?" blurted out Kuroda,

"Yes," Yoruichi replied confidently,

"Oh, that makes sense," said Ichigo as though he'd just solved some great mystery, his eyes turned towards the ceiling,

"W-wait! No! We're not together!"

"Really but you guys sure seem-AH!" screamed Ichigo,

"HAHAHA!" laughed Yoruichi,

While Ichigo's eyes had been turned to the ceiling, Yoruichi had covertly shifted back into her human form.

"What a fun reaction," laughed Yoruichi as Ichigo turned away,

Kuroda had closed his eyes long ago, aware that Yoruichi would try something like this.

"Just like Kuroda," observed Yoruichi, "every time me, him, and Kisuke would come down here to play, I'd play the same trick and he'd have the same reaction, never get's old."

"Wait, all three of you? That means you all really are shinigami aren't you," realized Ichigo, "even Mr. Urahara."

"Yes, all of us," said Yoruichi,

"I see, that makes sense, I was wondering how he could know so much about the Soul Society, and how he could have a zanpaktou too," explained Ichigo, "so who is he, really, he can't just be the owner of some candy shop."

There was a brief pause between the three of them before Yoruichi finally answered.

"He's the previous Captain of the 12th squad of the Gotei 13," she said, "and the founder and head of the Technological Development Bureau."

"Seriously? He was really such a big shot?"

"Yeah, he was," Kuroda said this time, "he may not act like it, but he has a brilliant mind."

"Wow, but what about you guys? What were you back then?"

"I was the Captain of the 2nd division," answered Yoruichi "and the head of the Onmitsukido, the special forces."

"You were a Captain too? Whoa, what about Kuroda?"

At first Kuroda didn't respond, probably unwilling to answer it himself and opting to just let Yoruichi respond. He had no such luck, instead Yoruichi gave him a jab in the side and silently told him to answer.

He sighed,

"Black ops," he said,

Yoruichi gave him another jab,

"Commander, of the Black ops division," he repeated,

"Hm, I thought Yoruichi was the head of that," said Ichigo,

"Yoruichi was the head of the special forces, not Black ops," replied Kuroda,

"What's the difference?" asked Ichigo, as he genuinely could not tell one from the other.

"Special forces are the ones you call in when you want one of your enemies to disappear," said Kuroda, "Black ops, were the ones you called when you wanted someone on your own side to disappear."

Ichigo let that morbid thought sink in.

"Whoa," he muttered,

"What?"

"I didn't think it was possible for you to become even scarier, but you proved me wrong," explained Ichigo,

"Whatever,"

(#!*%)(*#%^)(#%^*)#(*^)%#(*#%^)#)%(*^#)%(*)

In the Senzaikyu, Rukia Kuchiki tried to digest what she'd been told.

"What, did you say?" she asked, fear quivering through her voice,

"Do not make me repeat myself," said the messenger, "your execution…"

()$*%)(*#%&()*#%^)(#%*^)(%*^)#(%*^)#(%*^)#(*&#%)

The next day came fairly quickly.

Ichigo and Zangetsu began to do battle again, but this time tings were dramatically different. Ichigo's swords no longer broke after being used for just 5 or 10 minutes, now he was using them almost as long as he'd use his original zanpaktou.

Zangetsu pressed him harder, pushing him towards the goal they both wished to achieve.

"I'm not sure if he'll make," it admitted Yoruichi after she and Kuroda had finished their sparring match,

"He'll make it," Kuroda replied confidently, "and if he doesn't, we'll just extend his training a little longer, he'll be able to handle it."

"But that could-"

"I know what it could do," interrupted Kuroda, "but we'll have to take the chance."

Suddenly, the rooftop of the cavern exploded, everyone stopped what they were doing any looked towards the entrance.

"I was wondering what you were doing way down here," called a familiar voice, "is that your zanpaktou's true form?"

Something jumped from out of the dust and landed only a few meters away from Ichigo.

"Sneaking around to do bankai training huh?" continued the voice, "you sure are working hard."

The dust cleared to reveal a tall, red haired man, with a spikey pony tail. In his hand he carried what could only be described as a saw like zanpaktou. His forehead was wrapped by a piece of cloth and his arms were heavily tattooed with tribal like design.

"'what the hell are you ding here', that's written all over your face," mocked Renji,

A katana suddenly appeared beneath the red head lieutenant, dangerously pushing against his skin.

"Who are you?" asked Kuroda,

"Hey, hey, put that away man, I'm just here to deliver a message," said Renji,

Kuroda looked to Ichigo for confirmation, the substitute nodded and Kuroda sheathed his sword.

"What's the message," demanded Kuroda,

"Nothing big," said Renji "just that time has run out."

"What are you talking about?" asked Ichigo,

"Rukia's execution, it's been moved up to tomorrow afternoon,"

A horrible chill ran through everyone, their worst fears had now been realized. They could forget all about extending the schedule, their regular one had just been cut in half.

"I hate to admit it, but my power isn't enough to save Rukia, so I came here," explained Renji, "don't worry, I won't get in your way. I can already materialize my zanpaktou"

Renji extended his sword arm out. A swirl of energy surrounded the blade then traveled to the ground, creating a miniature tornado of pure reiatsu. When the tornado finally disappated, Renji's zanpaktou spirit stood before them, fully materialized.

It took on the appearance of a very large, very muscular baboon, it's fur was pure snow white with purple markings, similar to Reni's tattoos, running down its arm. But the most notable aspect of the spirit, was its snake tail, it was a real living breathing snake.

"We'll just be doing our thing over here," said Renji,

"Tomorrow, damn it," cursed Kuroda, "I don't know if we'll make it."

"It's such a short time," said Yoruichi, "there's no way that a bankai could be-"

Ichigo's sword shattered, interrupting whatever Yoruichi was about to say.

"I don't want to hear it," growled Ichigo, "I'm not quitting just yet."

"But Ichigo-"

"I don't want to hear it," repeated Ichigo as he turned to face them, "before this, my objective was to master Bankai in three days. Now, it's to master Bankai by tomorrow. Nothing's changed, I just need to work a little harder."

The entire handle suddenly shattered into thousands of pieces. Ichigo's reiatsu began to flow out of him, his resolve had been made, now nothing would stop him.

"When I say I'm going to do something," said Ichigo, "I mean it. I'm going to master Bankai before the execution, I'm going to beat Byakuya, save Rukia, and take everyone home. I won't give up."

"Ichigo," called Kuroda from high upon a ledge, "catch!"

He pulled a sword from the ground and tossed it to Ichigo, Ichigo snatched it from the air and gave a nod of thanks.

"You better get started," Kuroda told him, "I'll go make some preparations."

(#*%&^%#*(&%^(!)!_&!#%&^(*!#&%)!#%^&*#^)!^%#)!#*(%&!^)

Rukia lay on the floor of the Senzaikyu, her hands locked together as she peacefully lay in agonizing silence.

'The execution is tomorrow,' she thought, 'soon I'll be dead'

'Tomorrow, I should beg them to return Ichigo and the others to the world of the living,' she decided, 'I'm still part of the Kuchiki clan; perhaps they will honor my last wishes,'

'The execution is tomorrow,' she repeated, 'When I heard that, I was surprised. But strangely, I'm not sad. Perhaps this is my body's way of telling me that I'm ready to die.'

'Strange, I feel at peace.'

(#&*(#&%^(#*%&^(#%^)*#&%^)#%^)#%)

Kuroda left the underground cavern to leave Ichigo and Renji to their training; he on the other hand, had other things to do. Even with Ichigo on their side, Kuroda still couldn't take on every Captain on the Gotei 13. He would need help and thankfully, help was something that was easily attained for a person like him.

He made his way to a cliff that gave him a magnificent view of Seireitei. It was midday, and the sun was shining brightly. Then again, it was always shining, even when it snowed. After living so long in the world of the living, Kuroda found that he actually preferred there to be some clouds in the sky as opposed to pure sun.

Yes, he was weird that way.

To most people, it would seem that Kuroda had simply come up here to get some fresh air, but this was not the case, far from it. He was here, to meet someone.

His hand suddenly shot out and wrapped around thin air. It would have been comical if Kuroda weren't keeping such a serious face.

"How long are you gonna stay hidden, Keiji Yuta?"

At first there was no response, then, "Heh, that figures, never could sneak up on you."

A young man, probably early twenties from appearance alone, suddenly materialized out of thin air. Kuroda had caught the man's arm as it had reached towards his sword; he quickly released Keiji from his grip and turned to face him.

"I would not advise trying to steal AnShen," warned Kuroda, "he has been known to melt those who touch him, sometimes the whole arm is taken. Then how would you steal the things you wanted?"

"Well, I'd still have my other arm," replied Keiji,

"Humph,"

Keiji Yuta, Kleptomaniac, height sensitive, master assassin, thief, and scout, the Black ops 6th seat.

"You look taller," commented Kuroda, "what are you now, 5'6?"

"5'6 and a half," corrected Keiji,

"Ah, of course," replied Kuroda, "you've gotten better at sneaking around, been practicing?"

"Nope, I just get better by doing what I do best," replied Keiji,

Keiji had been a talented member of the 2nd squad under Yoruichi when she was still a Captain. He would have become her lieutenant but Yoruichi had instead recommended him to the Black Ops group. As she put it,

"He's a bit of a square and likes stealing anything that strikes his fancy, but he's a good warrior. He just needs the right environment to grow."

When Keiji had arrived in the Black ops squad, he'd already been highly proficient in Hakuda, Shunpo, and kido, not to mention he was an excellent strategist. Kuroda had been skeptical at first but he soon found that Keiji was an asset to their squad.

Not only was he a good advisor, he was a loyal friend.

For the past century, he'd been keeping Kisuke, Himself, and Yoruichi up to date on the happenings of Soul Society as best he could. Which, to be honest, was pretty good.

"How long have you known that I was trailing you?" asked Keiji,

"Since I walked through those gates," answered Kuroda, "while I fought Gin, I recognized your own reiatsu, it was faint, incredibly faint, but still there."

"As expected from you Commander," praised Keiji,

"Whatever,"

"You know," started Keiji, "he was holding back."

A long, morbid pause clung to the air as a chill seemed to pass by them.

"Yeah, I know,"

"You did?"

"Of course," replied Kuroda, "Gin is young, but he's also a prodigy. Give someone like him a century and he'll be a frightening force on the battlefield. I actually considered giving him a position in our squad when I first saw him. But Aizen got to him first."

"Yeah," said Keiji, "but enough about the past, you came up here for a reason right?"

"That's right," answered Kuroda, "how are Kaito and Rajin?"

"Considering the hurt you put down on them, not bad," replied Keiji, "they'd be out of the 4th squad barracks by now but it appears Unohana kept them there for another day."

"I see, is it true? The execution has been moved up?" he asked,

"Yes, I'm afraid so," answered Keiji,

Kuroda let out a long sigh, "I was hoping that it was a bluff, I guess that was wishing for too much. What of Aizen?"

"Reports have been coming in that say he's dead,"

"What?"

"Yes sir, Captain Unohana examined the body herself, she says that it's him," continued the 6th seat,

"I see, keep searching for him."

"What?"

"Aizen is not dead," said Kuroda, "there is no way he would let himself die. He'd sooner reveal his secret then let himself die before his own dream is ended."

"Very well sir, I will keep the squad on a look out," said Keiji, "but what of the attack?"

"Hm?"

"The attack, you will be making your move soon won't you?"

"Oh, right, the attack," said Kuroda, "I want you to deliver a message to the Kenpachi, tell him to go rescue the ryoka that have already been captured."

"Very good sir,"

"Also, as soon as Kaito and Rajin get themselves out of the 4th squad barracks, have them hide out near the Soukyoku hill."

"Yes sir,"

Kuroda let out another sigh, "it's gonna be a rough day tomorrow."

"What should I and the others do?" asked Keiji,

"Well, if it comes down to it, I might need your help in fighting the other Captains," replied Kuroda, "Yoruichi can take one, Ichigo will take Byakuya, Zaraki could probably take another. That still leaves ten others for me, nine if that Komamura guy is still down."

"You could probably take them," commented Keiji

"No, I'll have my hands full," said Kuroda, almost solemnly,

"Why?"

"Because it will be my job to fight Captain Commander Yamamoto,"

(!#*&%(*#&%^*(#&^#)#^_^%#_%^*)#%^_)%#^&)+_#)

The day went by fast, faster than anybody would have truly liked. Ichigo went through the entire night without a single moment of rest. Before long, it was already morning. No one wanted it to be, but it had shown up anyway.

Seireitei slowly buzzed back to life as Shinigami emerged from their barracks and began to go about their daily duties. But certain sense of foreboding hung in the air, perhaps it was simply because the execution was going to take place. Maybe it was because the ryoka activity had lessened. It may have even been the fact that many people were bewildered at the fact that the execution had actually been moved up.

Still, many people went on with their duties.

Captains in particular had a special duty today. They were to attend the execution.

But one Captain did not leave his barracks to attend the execution, oh no, this captain had something else in mind.

But you get to hear about that later. For now, you get to hear about the prisoners.

Chad, Ishida, and the badly wounded Ganju all sat in their shared jail cell, a grim air hanging among them. Despite being prisoners, they had been informed that Rukia Kuchiki would be executed today, this afternoon. With no way to break out, all they could do was helplessly sit in their cell and hope that Ichigo and the others still outside could pull of the rescue.

"This sucks," muttered Ganju,

That pretty much surmised how everyone felt.

Suddenly, a loud racket came from upstairs. People were shouting, screaming, there was even the sound of one or two things breaking.

"What's that sound?" asked Ganju,

"Someone's causing a lot of commotion," observed Ishida as he listened intently,

"AH!" screamed someone, "stop! Murderer! Murderer!"

"It's getting louder," said Ganju,

"No," said Chad, "it's getting closer."

Suddenly the ceiling above them gave a way, spilling dust and rubble into the air as Ganju and Ishida tried to avoid being buried alive.

"What the hell is going on?" cried Ganju,

The dust cleared, and revealed the very last person they wanted to see,

"Y-you're! Za-Za-Za-Za-Za-Za-Zaraki Kenpachi of the 11th squad!" screamed Ganju,

Two other figures stepped out from the Captains shadow, a bald man and another feminine looking one with ear length purple hair.

The feminine one gave Ganju a glare.

"Ah! It's you!" screamed Ganju, "that freak with the purple hair!"

"Who are you?" asked Yumichika, with much malice in his voice, "Sorry, but I have a personality that doesn't let me remember ugly faces."

"HA! Is that how you treat your superiors? Can't remember a face you saw so recently? Idiot!" screamed Ganju as though he'd won their little exchange,

"So you don't deny that you're ugly," commented Ishida,

Ishida was about to comment further when he noticed an orange head of hair poke itself up from the Captain's shoulder.

"Orihime!"

"Hey!" Orihime said with much effort, "You're all okay! Thank goodness, I was afraid that we'd never find you but-AH!"

"Yachiru! Stop it!" pleaded Orihime,

"Fall" shouted the pink haired demon as she swung from Orihime's legs, "Fall! Fall! Fall!"

"I see," said a new voice from the ceiling above, "I guess I found the right cell after all."

The group looked up to see a young, rather tan looking man, with brown spikey hair, almost like a porcupine's quills. He wore the Shinigami's traditional Shihakusho, though worn in the fashion of the 2nd division, along with fingerless gloves on each of his hands and a red obi sash tied around his waist. Though the most notable piece of clothing was the black hooded cloak he wore on his shoulders, it looked very much like Kuroda's except less tattered.

With a small step, the man dropped down to their level. With his cobalt blue eyes he examined each of them.

"Oi, you're Ganju, Chad, and Ishida right?" he asked,

The three men were a bit surprised, Chad voice their thoughts by asking, "how do you know our names?"

"Kuroda told me, he's the reason we're busting you out of here," explained the man,

"Kuroda sent you?" asked Ishida,

"That scary guy?" asked Ganju,

"Indeed, I am Kenji Yuta, a loyal subordinate to Commander Ryou," explained the man, "he sent me to get Captain Kenpachi to save you, but the Captain has poor navigation skills, so I had to guide him here."

"Shad up," muttered Kenpachi,

"My job is done," said Kenji, "I assume you can take it from here?"

"Yeah yeah," waved Kenpachi, he stepped forward, the group gave him a wide berth as he quite literally charged through the wall and out into the streets. The group of humans just stared in shock and awe.

"Hey! Catch up you idiots!" the Captain called back,

(*#&(%^*(#&%^)_#^_%^*_#%^*_*^)#&+_#%+)

Elsewhere in the 7th division barracks,

A man, well-muscled, with a military haircut and sunglasses came skidding down the hall, on his knees! In the bowing position!

"Please forgive me Captain," screamed the man as he came to a stop, "I Iba Tetsuzaemon, was in the bathroom having stomach problems! As penance, I will slash open my gut and-"

"No need for that," interrupted Captain Komamura, "if you are prepared, then we can go."

"Oh, uh…"

"Don't be so surprised,"

"Oh! I'm not surprised Captain, I'm just-"

"It's alright," interrupted Komamura, "You're probably worried over whether or not I have doubts about this death sentence. You were concerned, and tried to make me consider not consenting. Doing that would buy her time."

There was a brief pause before Iba said, "yes sir, you saw through everything."

"Do not worry," said Komamura, "I have not doubts, the only thing making me move is my debt to the Captain Commander. I have not hesitations, I will follow his command no matter what. Isn't that right, Kaname?"

Iba turned to see the Captain of the 9th division, Kaname Tosen.

"But of course,"

Elsewhere in the 2nd division barracks

"Jeez, what a pain," whined the pudgy, balding, and lazy lieutenant of the 2nd division as he munched away at his rice crackers, "just the case with the ryoka sneaking around is trouble enough, now there are people debating whether the death sentence is right or not. It's the decision that's been handed down from the top so there's no point debating it. What a bunch of idiots, right Captain?"

"I have no interest in whether it is right or not," replied Captain Soi Fon, "All I have is my duty as the 2nd Squad's Captain. Eliminate the enemy, that is all."

'Still,' she thought to herself, 'Rajin did not seem sure of the execution either.'

_Flashback_

_Soi Fon had snuck out of her division barracks in the middle of the night when she was sure no one was around to see. As stealthily as the dark itself, she snuck to the 4__th__ division barracks. Sped past the guards, through the halls, up the wall and through the window of Rajin's room._

_She quietly crept in, noticing Rajin's friend, noisily snoring in his own bed._

_She then turned her attention to Rajin, sleeping peacefully in his bed._

_She walked up to him and lifted a hand to shake him awake._

_Just as she was about to reach him, his hand shot up and grabbed her by the wrist._

"_It's not polite to disturb someone's sleep, Captain Soi Fon,"_

"_I just came to visit," she muttered, "you should be grateful."_

"_Did I ever say I wasn't?" asked Rajin, finally opening his eyes._

_Their eyes met for a single moment and Rajin gave her a smile._

"_What's with the face?" she asked, "it's not like this is some romantic novel. I always visit you at night."_

"_Because that's the only time you can get away right?"_

"_Right,"_

_Rajin let out a small chuckle of amusement._

"_It's the truth," she said defensively,_

"_I know, I know," he said, "I'm happy, really, that you came to see me."_

"_Don't think too much of it," she replied,_

"_Sure thing,"_

_Soi Fon cutely pushed her fingers together before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small box, _

"_I brought this for you, it's your favorite, Onigiri with a shrimp filling."_

"_Oh, thank you very much," said Rajin, "did you make it yourself?"_

_Soi Fon blushed, ever so lightly._

"_What are your thoughts on the execution?" asked Rajin,_

"_What about it?"_

"_Doesn't it seem odd, that such a harsh penalty, was deemed necessary for such a minor crime?"_

"_Huh? You're not questioning the command are you?"_

"_Of course not," he replied, "it's just that…"_

"_Well, in any case," he said, "thank you for your visit. But you should go back now, it's late and you need your sleep."_

_End Flash back_

"What was he going to say?" she whispered,

"Hm, did you say something Captain?"

"No you fool,"

((&*%^#(*)%^)#*%_#%*_*%&_#(%^*_#%^*_%+#)

It had only been a half hour after they'd escaped and already they were lost. They now found themselves in a completely random open area that seemed to serve no purpose what so ever.

"I knew we shouldn't have followed the Lieutenant's directions," grumbled Ikkaku,

Yachiru jumped off from Kenpachi's shoulders and attacked the bald 3rd seat, biting down on his hairless head with her teeth.

"OW! OW! OW!" screamed the man, "Let go Lieutenant!"

"Quiet," commanded Kenpachi,

The group looked towards where Kenpachi had turned his gaze.

There was nothing in the courtyard that Kenpachi's gaze bore into, at least, nothing they could see.

"Come out you cowards! Stop sneaking around and face me!" he called,

Four figures suddenly appeared in the middle of the courtyard, two of them Captains.

"Where do you think you are going with those escaped ryoka?" asked Captain Tosen,

Kenpachi smiled, "don't know, I thought I'd just walk around until I found that other ryoka."

The blind captain gave the Captain of the 11th what could best be described as a glare.

"Hey, you guys," Kenpachi called back, "get out of here, "I think I'll have a bit of fun."

Both parties were taken aback by such a bold statement.

"Four against one huh? Should be a good warm up," grinned Kenpachi,

"Four against one?" asked Komamura, "I know you are skilled Kenpachi, but it seems that you take too much pride in it!"

"You talk too much," was all Kenpachi would say as he drew his jagged blade, "hurry up and attack me. If you all attack at once, you might scratch me."

"Have funny Kenny," called Yachiru, "we'll keep looking for the right way!"

"Yeah, whatever,"

"Alright, let's go, Monkey, Jiggles, Muscles, and Pencil, follow me!" she commanded as she sped off in some random direction,

"You seem to be quite confident in your ability to defeat us Zaraki," observed the blind Captain, "but it seems that you've not only lost your pride as a Captain but your sanity as well."

"Sanity?" asked Kenpachi, "I don't even remember **ever** having something like that to start with."

(!*(#&%^(#*%^_#_!#%^*_#%^*!#)%)!#%_!#%^)!)

In the distance, Kuroda felt Kenpachi's reiatsu fluctuate.

"Two at once, huh Kenpachi? I won't complain, have your fun, it just makes my job easier."

(#(*%)#%&*+#%*(+&_#%(*&_#+)#()%*&_)

"Two against one," said Komamura after their lieutenants had left to do battle with the other squad 11 members, "still bad odds for you Kenpachi."

The giant Captain drew his sword,

"Just attack already," complained Kenpachi,

"Don't overestimate yourself!"

Komamura struck the ground with all his might, a powerful shock wave smashed its way through the pavement and struck against Kenpachi with enough force to kill a dozen men. Dust obscured the sight of Kenpachi, but the Captains didn't need to see to know that Kenpachi had taken the attack head on.

"Please take two steps back, Komamura," Tosen asked politely,

The blind man jumped into the air, the giant complied.

"Cry, Suzumushi Mishiki: Benihiko," whispered the Captain,

He drew his sword and waved his blade into a semicircle through the air. A trail of dozens of blades formed as it went. On cue, the entire wave came crashing down on Kenpachi's location. By now, an entire section of the building they stood on had come collapsing to the ground below.

Tosen landed back on the ground next to his giant friend.

"It's over," said Komamura,

Tosen nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, laughter broke through the silence, hungry, blood lusting laughter.

From out of the dust, Kenpachi Zaraki came walking out of the carnage.

Blood dribbled down his chin and at least five swords stuck out from his body. But with a powerful flex of his muscles, four of them simply came loose and fell to the ground. The last one he reached up and nonchalantly ripped from his shoulder.

"What was that?" he asked, "is that it?"

"Impossible," whispered Tosen, "he took an attack from both my Tenken and Tosen's Benehiko!"

"If that's all?" asked Kenpachi "I was wrong, this won't even be a warm up,"

(#$*&%^#)%#%_&*#(&%_#%&_)

Back on his cliff, Kuroda felt the pulses of power echoing through the air as the Demon of Squad 11 did battle with his prey.

"Have fun Kenpachi Zaraki," he whispered to the wind, "I will repay you're contribution."

"Sir!"

Kuroda turned his head to see Keiji behind him.

"You're plan worked sir,"

"I know."

(#(%^)(#*%_#%_!%_&!#*(%)#%^#_%^_#^%_#^%_)

The Captains finally realized that they could in no way defeat Zaraki Kenpachi without releasing their bankai. Tosen, was the first to go.

His bankai created a dome of impenetrable darkness around him and his adversary. Only he, the wielder of Benehiko could truly see in this void.

But still, that didn't mean he could win.

Kenpachi proved that point when he brought down his sword, just inches away from Tosen's position.

"Damn!" he cursed as he back peddled away, "I was right, you are some kind of demon!"

Collecting himself together, Tosen charged forth in an effort to end this fight before Kenpachi could try to attack again.

His sword lashed out, it moved closer and closer, it's blade touched to the madman's shoulder, but no blood came forth. The Kenpachi had dodged at the last possible second and brought his sword around in a sweeping arc.

Tosen just barely managed to step out of the way with his head still attached to his shoulders.

The squad, the 9th squad captain attempted again to attack, but again the Kenpachi dodged at the last possible moment, then again and again and again. Each time Tosen failed, Kenpachi's swings became closer and closer to reaching their mark.

"How?" asked Tosen as he panted from exersion, "how can he dodge, he has no sight, no hearing, no smell. He can't even sense my reiatsu, how!"

Tosen charged again, he swung, his blade tried to slip it's way through Kenpachi's ribs. But once again, Kenpachi dodged, he pivioted ever so slightly off his left foot, pushing his ribs just out of the sword's reach.

As soon as he regained his footing, the Captain of Squad 11 lashed out with his sword.

'_I got him this time' thought Kenpachi, 'just a nick, but still.'_

'_This bankai that dulls the senses is a real bitch, at least I still have my sense of touch. As long as I can do that, I can feel his blade out and dodge before his blade reaches my flesh. So I know he won't be able to kill me.'_

But the Captain frowned,

'_Ugh,' he thought, 'this is such a boring way to fight, it's so much more fun to hack and slash. But I can't see or hear and I could never feel all that much reiatsu to begin with. ARGH! Why do I have to do all this thinking? I want to fight!'_

"_Use your instincts Kenny" he could hear Yachiru say,_

"_What do you think I'm doing?" he shot back,_

"_Maybe you should try using that mind eye thing," suggested Ikkaku,_

"_If I could do that I wouldn't be having this damn problem," he growled,_

"_Let me see what would I do?" pondered Yumichika, "I'd give up, beautifully."_

"_You'd die," he spat,_

'_Hold on' he thought, 'that's not such a bad idea,'_

"He's grinning," growled Tosen as he charged, "even though he's on the brink he's still enjoying the fight! You're dangerous Kenpachi, too dangerous to live!"

Tosen's sword thrust forward, the tip seem to edge forward as Tosen tried to find that moment when Kenpachi would try to move again. But it never came, Benehiko went straight through the man's ribs.

'What? He didn't dodge?' asked Tosen,

A hand shot forth and grabbed Benehiko,

"WELL HELLO!" smiled Kenpachi, "SO WE MEET AGAIN!"

"Impossible!"

Kenpachi's sword screamed in delight as he slashed it through Tosen's flesh. Blood gushed forth as wound was made from his right collar bone all the way down to his left hip.

"Now I can see you and hear you," observed Kenpachi, "is it because we're in direct contact? Or is it this sword?"

Tosen's only response was a pained groan.

"It doesn't matter," decided Kenpachi as he literally ripped Benehiko's blade from his flesh, "Come at me again! I know you're trick! Next time I'll stop your sword before it ever hits me."

With his challenge made, Kenpachi let go of the Captain's hand and let him stumble back into the darkness.

Captain Komamura watched from the outside. He watched as the dome created by his friend's bankai shattered into nothing. He watched as his friend stumbled across the floor, blood oozing from not one, but two wounds.

Kenpachi had lived up to his word. He'd won.

"It's not over!" protested Tosen,

"Yes it is," grumbled Kenpachi, "I quit, you're no fun anymore."

"Come back here you-"

"Shut up!" roared Kenpachi as he lashed out with his sword,

Komamura shoved his way into their fight and took the blow for his friend, his helmet catching the blade for him.

"Sajin, no!" cried Tosen,

"Enough Kaname, your words are wasted on this man," replied Captain Komamura,

"Sajin I-"

"It's alright Kaname," assured Komamura,

His helmet finally gave way and shattered onto the floor.

"So that's what's under that basket, I always wondered but I never expected this," joked Kenpachi,

Komamura turned and gave Kenpachi a full view of his bestial appearance.

"You don't seem shocked by what you see," commented the wolf looking Captain,

"I don't really give a shit about outward appearance," admitted Kenpachi, "all I really care is if you fight like a beast too."

"You rely too much on outward strength Kenpachi, that is your weakness, I am not like Kaname, I will not show you the same mercy,"

"**BANKAI!**"

A shadow fell over their battlefield as a skyscraper tall samurai, carrying a monstrously large sword appeared before them.

"**Kokujou Tengen Myouou!**"

"Let it begin Kenpachi Zaraki, a fight to the death, just the kind you like!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! A fight to the death huh? Now we're talking!"

(*%)(#%*^)(#%^*)(%#*)*%^)#%^)%^*)(#%*_+#%*_)

At the Soukyoku

Rukia had been led up to the execution platform, so far, very few Captains had arrived, she wondered why. But regardless of whether they showed up or not, the execution would go forth and she'd still die.

"We shall now begin the execution," announced the Captain Commander,

Rukia stared at the twenty foot tall spear that would be her death and felt a pang of fear but she quickly pushed it aside and reminded herself that she'd accepted her fate.

"So few people have gathered," commented Captain Soi Fon,

"Huh?" asked her Lieutenant Omaeda

"Only the 1st squad, 8th squad as well as our own have both Captain and Lieutenant in attendance, it's understandable that the 5th, 11th, and 12th wouldn't attend, but where are the others? I thought that at least Unohana would be here."

Just as she finished her sentence, one more figure appeared on the hill. Captain of the 6th squad, Byakuya Kuchiki.

Rukia's eyes widened when she saw the man,

"Brother," she whispered,

But Byakuya made no move to acknowledge her, in fact, it seemed he went out of his way to avoid her gaze.

Rukia felt a sting of pain in her heart.

"Rukia Kuchiki," began Captain Commander Yamamoto, "do you have any last words to say?"

"Yes, just one thing," she said,

((#)*%^)!#(*%^)#%^_!#%*^_!#%*(^_)

"Kiyone!" shouted Sentaro, 3rd seat of the 13th squad, "isn't the Captain done yet? The execution has started!"

"Don't shout! I'm right here!" Kiyone screamed back, "Captain! Captain!"

"Now who's shouting?" he murmured,

"Captain! The execution has started!" she called,

The doors to Captain Ukitake's quarters opened.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," he said, "but it took a while to break the seal."

"Our appeal to Central 46 has been rejected, this is our last option, we must destroy the Soukyoku!"

()($*Y)($%^*)(%*&_#+%_%_()#%_+#(%*&+#%&*_#%&+_#_%&_#)

"Very well," replied the Captain Commander, "your last request shall be honored, after the execution, the ryoka will be returned home, unharmed."

"Thank you,"

The guardians of the Soukyoku stepped forward and began to create a perfect circle around the spear of the Soukyoku. Performing a quick series of hand signs, the guardians prepared the final step.

"Release the seal!" ordered he commander,

In a bright flash of blue light, enormous amounts of pure energy engulfed the spear entirely. The ropes that held it in place, snapped like string. The ground beneath it, broke away like centuries old buildings.

Rukia watched the spear with intently she'd always wanted to see the release of the Soukyoku, though she'd never imagined it'd be like this.

Strange really, she felt no remorse.

Four stones around her feet, carved themselves out of the stone platform she stood on.

Invisible hands lifted them to chest level, then other hands reached out and released her bonds, then lifted her hundreds of feet into the air.

The moment she reached the appropriate height, the spear released itself in full.

Fire swarmed up its shaft and traveled its way up to the very tip of the spear. The geyser of flame shot towards the heavens and lashed out at the ground, scorching anything that was within its reach.

Slowly but surely, the fire began to shift and change, taking on a new shape. Those who had yet to see the Soukyoku's release, stood in awe as the fire turned into what could only be described as a giant majestic phoenix.

"Behold," called the Captain Commander, "the Soukyoku has taken on it's true form, to deliver the ultimate punishment! When the prisoner's body has been pierced the sentence will have been fulfilled!"

_I'm not afraid_, _I have lived a good life. I was blessed to meet Renji and the others, by brother Byakuya's adoption into the family, by the guidance of Kaien. _

_Then I was further blessed by meeting Ichigo, and his attempt to rescue me, I will never forget him. No one, could have asked for a more loyal friend._

_This is not suffering, this is not pain, I have no regrets, my heart leaves nothing behind._

_Captain Ukitake, Sentaro, Kiyone_

_Thank you_

_Chad, Ganju, Ishida, Orihime,_

_Thank you_

_Byakuya_

_Thank you_

_Kuroda_

_Thank you_

_Ichigo_

_Thank you_

Tears rolled down her face, out of sadness or happiness, she couldn't tell.

"Farewell,"

The Phoenix cried out and moved forward.

**End**

**A/N**

**Jeez, that was a long chapter. I've got, 10,035 on my word counter. Is that a record? I can't remember. Anyway, I apologize if this chapter feels a bit rushed, but don't worry, the next chapter will more than make up for it. Because the next chapter will be 90% action! 2% will be comedy. How could we forget the day that Rukia became the world's most powerful projectile.**

**But yeah, that's the plan.**

**Keiji Yuta, who was introduced in this chapter, is an OC submission by Frenzi99. Much appreciation out towards you Frenzi99, your character will be well taken care of, he was one of the better ones submitted and for that, he will have a special place in this story.**

**Submissions are still open for anyone that's interested.**

**But that's all I've really got to say. Anyway…hmm…I know I was gonna say something else. Nope, can't think of it.**

**Omake time!**

"**Good evening," said Kuroda, pointer in hand, "today we will discuss Keiji Yuta, 6****th**** seat of the Black ops squad"**

"**Keiji Yuta is a clinically categorized as a Kleptomaniac, meaning he has an urge to steal just about anything that catches his fancy," this could include a number of things, "watches, coins, vases, stones, and even other people's zanpaktou."**

"**Despite this, he is a skilled tactician and acknowledges that charging head first, is not always the best way to go about things,"**

"**He is the squad's stealthiest member, and I have used him many times for infiltration missions, where others have proven…unsuitable."**

"**Still, I wish he'd keep his hands to himself, one of these days it's going to get him in trouble,"**

"**Uh, Kuroda," said Kaito as he wanders on screen,**

"**What is it?"**

"**Have you seen my zanpaktou, or my wallet, or my drum set?"**

"**No,"**

"**Kuroda," said Rajin as he also wandered on screen, "have you seen my spare glasses? Or my onigiri?"**

"**No,"**

"**Kuroda," said Ichigo, "have you seen that doll thing that I use to bring out Zangetsu? I can't finish my bankai training without it."**

"**Oh god damn it,"**

**End**


	18. Chapter 18

**Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I've waited so many chapters to upload this part of the story! I can't tell you how excited I am to write this. I'm just gonna spill it now, I've waited so long to write about Kuroda vs Yamamoto, there's going to be action, lots of it, and a real surprise! A surprise, that I've been waiting to write about, for 17 chapters! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Yeah…, please enjoy these chapters responsibly.**

Chapter 18

Step 4: Throw the flames into the forest

The Phoenix let loose an earth shattering cry, and dove forward.

Rukia closed her eyes and waited for oblivion to take her.

But she would find, that it had decided to not yet come.

She felt the heat of the fire, the gentle touch of the wind, but she did not feel the pain she expected to when it would finally come. This confused her.

Deciding to risk it, she slowly opened her eyes.

What she saw, caught her breath.

There, standing in the middle of the inferno, his chin held high and his eyes proud. Ichigo.

"Hey" he said nonchalantly,

"Ichigo…"she whispered, unable to believe he was standing there at first, but then again, she realized, it exactly something he would do.

Her mouth opened to voice her thanks, or perhaps her frustration with his stubbornness, or maybe even just to tell him to forget about her. It didn't matter, nothing came out, not at first.

When she tried again, something definitely came out.

"You idiot!" she screamed, "I told you not to come back for me!"

"W-wha?"

"I already told you, you can't be my brother! He'll kill you for sure this time! I've already decided I'm ready to die, I don't need to be saved! Go home!" she yelled,

But of course, her screams would fall on deaf ears.

Down on the ground however, it was another story. The Captains all stared up at the lone ryoka, holding back the Soukyoku with his single zanpaktou, a myarid of expressions filled the crowd. Annoyance, anger, shock, relief.

"I-Impossible," stuttered Soi Fon, "how did he stop it? The Soukyoku has the power of a million zanpaktou, how did he stop it with only one? Just what is he?"

"Nanao," spoke Captain Kyoraku "is this possibly the boy that the ryoka before mentioned?"

"Yes," she replied, "all his physical characteristics match the reports given by other squads."

"I see," said Kyoraku, "I guess in the end, he was the one who made it in time."

The Soukyoku, seemingly enraged by being denied its prize, reared its head back and gave another earth shattering shriek.

Ichigo, not expecting the bird to move, stumbled forth but still managed to uphold his levitation in the air.

The Soukyoku unexpectedly backed up, flapping it's mighty wings as it put distance between itself and Ichigo.

"Backing up for a second attack huh? Fine,"

"What? No!" protested Rukia, "stop Ichigo! That's enough! You'll never stop it a second time, please, run away!"

Ichigo ignored the girl's screams and hefted Zangetsu, preparing to meet this executioner's weapon head on.

"Ichigo!"

Just as the bird flapped its wings again, he pivoted off his foot and began to charge, but was suddenly pulled back by a hand.

Ichigo turned around to see Kuroda, holding him back by the shoulder.

"Kuroda? What are you doing? We've got to take that thing down," said Ichigo,

"Just shut up and watch,"

"Huh?"

The phoenix charged.

Kuroda's hardened eyes gazed into the bird's, not a single flinch of fear crossed his face. Ichigo, seeing this, felt the need to fight back subside. He stood his ground with Kuroda, and watched as the great bird of fire flew across the sky to meet them.

But once again, the Soukyoku would be denied.

A bright red rope suddenly shot into the sky and wrapped itself around the phoenix's neck, effectively stopping it just a few meters away from the two men. Connected to the loose end of the rope, a black rod that fell to the ground and anchored itself to the hill.

The phoenix thrashed around violently, sending fire streaming across the sky, but it was to no avail. The most powerful weapon in the entire Soul Society, was not useless.

"About damn time," muttered Kuroda,

"What's going on?" asked Ichigo,

Down on the ground, Captain Ukitake had finally arrived.

Captain Kyoraku, seeing his friends arrival, quickly jumped to the white haired man's side and placed his hand on the black rod that had taken root on the hill.

"Hey there pretty boy, I was wondering when you'd show up," joked Kyoraku,

"It took longer than I thought to break the seal, but, this should do it," replied Jushiro as he slammed down what looked like a giant wooden shield, into the ground.

Captain Soi Fon saw it and quickly realized what it was.

The Shihouin Clan crest

"Stop them," she ordered, "they're going to destroy the Soukyoku!"

But it was too late, together, the Captain Ukitake and Captain Kyoraku unsheathed their zanpaktou and thrust them into the wooden shield. Streams of energy traveled through the ropes, up and towards the bird of fire.

The Soukyoku was obliterated, it burst like bag of fire, scattering massive globs of flame all over the hill. Captain and Lieutenant alike were forced to shield themselves in fear of being burnt to a crisp.

"You're in the clear now," said Kuroda,

"Huh?"

"You heard me, go save you're girl,"

"Wha-she's not my girl!" protested Ichigo as he flew off to the execution stand.

A fierce look crossed his eyes as Ichigo landed.

"What are you doing Ichigo?" shouted Rukia,

"Isn't it obvious?" replied Ichigo as he swung Zangetsu over his head by its cloth sheath, "this stand is going to come down."

"What? That's crazy! Don't do it Ichigo, you'll end up killing us both," she screamed,

"It's all good," was his only reply,

"Kuroda," called Rukia, "please stop him, he'll-"

"Have some faith in him,"

"Yeah, seriously," said Ichigo, ",like I said before, I'm going to ignore all your opinions, just shut up and watch."

All eyes were on the orange haired ryoka as he sunk his zanpaktou down into the stand.

The sacred stand glowed a blinding white as a burst of energy shot through it and into the air. Finally, the stand gave way and the light engulfed the entire hillside.

"You never shut up. Always telling me to go home, or to let you die. You seriously talk too much sometimes, it's a good thing I never listen to you, who knows what kind of mess you'd be in if I did. This is the second time I've had to say this,"

"I'm here to rescue you, Rukia."

Rukia opened her eyes and found herself safely in Ichigo's arms, bridal style. She looked up to see him staring down at her, eyes full of genuine care as he held her closely to his chest. She turned her eyes away as she felt tears welling up in her own eyes and to hide the smile that was so persistently finding its way to her face.

"I'm not going to say thank you," she told him, "I won't,"

Ichigo smirked, "uh huh,"

For the second time of the day, and in just a span of ten minutes, the Captains of the Gotei 13 stared up in shock and awe.

The Soukyoku stand had been, destroyed.

Though one Captain in particular, was not staring up at the stand but straight into the eyes of the ryoka who destroyed it. His gaze, accusing him,

"how dare you" it seemed to say.

Ichigo's own stare, seemed to say the same thing.

"Ichigo," said Rukia, interrupting the ryoka's challenge, "what are we going to do now? How are you going to escape now?"

"Make a break for it," he responded,

"What? How stupid! We'd never get away," protested Rukia, "those are Captains down there!"

"Don't worry about it, we're not exactly alone you know. Everyone else came too. Chad, Orihime, Ganju, Ishida, Yoruichi, their all here, I'll get us away, and then we'll all go home."

Rukia felt a rising sense of confidence in her chest with each word that Ichigo said, she couldn't help but smile.

"Besides, Kuroda's got a plan," assured Ichigo,

"Huh?"

"Didn't forget about me did you?"

Rukia turned her head to see Kuroda standing calmly on the Soukyoku stand beside them.

"It's being taken care of," he continued, "but I think it'd be best if you were not here for the fighting."

"Agreed," said Ichigo,

Rukia looked back and forth between the two men, unable to understand what convoluted plan they were using or what secret language they were exchanging.

The shouts of men and the distinct sound of steel broke the silence.

"Here's your ride," said Kuroda,

On the far side of the hill, a certain red head had managed to fight his way up through the guards and to the execution grounds.

"About time Renji," called Ichigo,

Rukia's eyes traveled to the source of the sound and saw Renji, standing over a pile of incapacitated guards, Zabimaru slung over his shoulder.

"Well, I couldn't let you save Rukia all by yourself," Renji called back,

The two men shared a moment of mutual respect, both of them wanted the same thing and now they were happily working together to achieve it.

"Alright," said Ichigo, "time for you to go Rukia."

Grabbing her by the sash of her robes, Ichigo hefted her high into the air. The substitute shinigami gave a few experimental rows of his shoulder, trying to find the right angle to do this.

"Wait Ichigo, you're not really going to-"

"Hey hold on now," Renji stuttered nervously, "you wouldn't dare!"

"Incoming!" declared Ichigo,

With a heave of his arm, the orange haired substitute tossed Rukia with enough force and precision to make a NFL player proud.

Rukia for her part, was not in agreement.

As she flew through the air and super high speeds, screaming at the top of her lungs, eyes comically wide with fear. She could only think 'he is so dead'

Renji was not anymore amused as Rukia crashed into his arms head first, causing them to dig a rather deep trench across the ground.

"Damn you Ichigo, you bastard!" cursed Rukia,

"You idiot," joined Renji, "what if I didn't catch her!"

"Stop complaining and get her out of here!" ordered Ichigo,

"Huh?"

"You heard me! Get her out of here," repeated Ichigo, "that's you're job!"

Renji seemed hesitant at first, but nodded his head in acknowledgement and took off down the hill.

The gathered shinigami, were in disbelief as the events that had just unfolded in such a short amount of time.

"R-Renji?" lieutenant Omaeda asked in his stupor,

"What are you gawking at you fools?" screamed Soi Fon, "Go! All Lieutenants after them!"

With the command of their Captains, the lieutenants of the 1st, 2nd, and 4th took off after the fleeing shinigami.

Just as they began to close in on the two, Ichigo, with blinding speed, intercepted the trio of lieutenants and stopped them in their tracks.

The tree shinigami raised their zanpaktou, waiting for the ryoka to make a move. All he did, was unsling his own sword and punch it tip first into the ground.

The lieutenant of the 2nd, saw this as a grave insult.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY," he screamed,

"**Run, Itegumo!"**

" **Drill, Gonryoumaru!"**

"**Crush, Gegetsuburi!"**

To be truthful, it wasn't even a fair fight.

The moment, the lieutenants finished releasing their zanpaktou, Ichigo made his move. With a single fist, he punched his way through the 2nd division lieutenant's spike flail and into his stomach.

The large, pudgy man never stood a chance as the wind was practically ripped out of him. The other two lieutenants could only stare as their comrade went down, but they only stared for a second.

Ichigo went next for the 1st division lieutenant. The noble looking man, like his comrade, was too slow to react. To his credit, he managed to perform a single stab before being viciously knocked out by an uppercut. The 4th division lieutenant fared no better, so shocked was she that she couldn't react until Ichigo had slammed an open palmed strike into her stomach.

The three lieutenants hit the ground simultaneously. Ichigo had taken only 10 seconds to take them out.

The sound of running feet and a sword being released from its sheath reached Ichigo's ears, his hand shot out and grabbed Zangetsu.

Bringing his zanpaktou to bear, Ichigo swung himself around just in time to block a powerful strike.

"I can see your every step, Byakuya Kuchiki,"

#(*%&)#_*%&(_*#%&_(*%^(_*&#%_(&*_#)#$%*(&_)

The crowd of Shinigami, both loyal and "traitors," watched as the ryoka and Captain Kuchiki struggled against each other.

Kiyone's attention however, shifted from the battle between the two shinigami, to her sister, laying unconscious on the ground next to her comrades.

Despite being on a different side at the moment, her familial instincts tugged at her to go to her sister's side. But the battle between Captain Kuchiki and the ryoka was insane, power was literally lashing out at the ground from their exchanges.

But still, she felt that maybe she could risk it.

"Isane," she whispered, taking some comfort with her sister's name,

With a deep breath, she charged forward.

"Kiyone wait!" called Sentaro,

The man quickly took off after his fellow 3rd seat but instantly felt a chill hit him as he ran.

A second layer he was flying through the air, pain racking every nerve in his entire body.

Kiyone turned back at the sound of her the other 3rd seat's pain.

Standing a few feet from her was the cold form of Captain Soi Fon, the 2nd division Captain didn't even bat an eye as Sentaro hit the ground with a sickening crunch.

"Wait, Soi Fong," protested Captain Ukitake,

The white haired Captain began to run to restrain the small and deadly woman, but the Captain Commander had other plans.

His cane came down, just a few inches from Jushiro's foot, most would not have seen this as threatening, but the Captain of the 13th squad knew better.

"Be still," thundered the Elderly Commander,

"Commander…"

"The one who took the criminal and escaped was a lieutenant, if we kill and replace him, a substitute would suffice. We will capture him at our leisure, but it is you two who are the ones that I cannot forgive!" the commander said sternly, "you two, have done what a captain must never do! I know you two are not the least bit ignorant of what that means."

Jushiro scowled and his eyes narrowed. Kyoraku's face had become one of a solemn man.

"Well then," Kyoraku suddenly said, as he grabbed Jushiro by the shoulder, "no choice! How about we go and find a better place to do this. Come on, Jushiro!"

The Captain of the 8th dragged his friend with him off the side of the cliff, his lieutenant following soon after.

"Wait," called Captain Ukitake as they fell down the side of the hill, "my subordinates are still-"

"Calm down," interrupted Shunsui, "if you want to fight old man Yamamoto, we'd best do it away from here, otherwise everyone else will be caught up in it."

"But-"

"Don't worry, those two we'll be okay. Remember, Kuroda is still up there, and if I know him like I think I do, his whole squad is still loyal to him."

Back at the top of the hill

"If that's the way it'll be, then its my job to take care of you two," observed Soi Fon,

Before Kiyone could even think of reacting, Soi Fon delivered a sharp kick to the side of her head. The blow was much more powerful then anything Kiyone had taken before and sent her tumbling into the dirt.

But the Captain was merciless and would not allow her any respite.

Kiyone struggled to her feet as Captain Soi Fon casually walked over to her.

"Scum, you dishonor the souls of Seireitei with your shameful betrayal," the woman spoke as she walked towards her prey, "But rest assured, I will make sure you can never dishonor us again."

Soi Fon drew back her fist and lashed out with enough force to sink her hand through the 3rd seat's chest. But her attack, came to an abrupt halt as a figure suddenly appeared between the two shinigami and stopped it cold.

"That's enough Soi Fon," Rajin whispered in a low, deadly tone.

"Rajin!"

With a small push he sent Soi Fon stumbling back.

"Are you a traitor too?" she asked, her voice quavering ever so slightly, "are you leaving the Gotei 13?"

"I do what I believe is right and what my commander wants," replied Rajin, "I wish you could see it too, but your experiences have colored your perspective."

"Silence traitor!" she screamed, Rajin's eyes widened in surprise, "those who betray us, are nothing but scum. If you turn back now, I can turn a blind eye. But I won't let you walk out of here on these terms."

Rajin was silent for a moment before simply shaking his head.

"I wish you could see," he said solemnly, "but I suppose it's not my place to teach you."

Soi Fon gripped the handle of her zanpaktou.

"She's all yours," whispered Rajin,

Before Soi Fon could ask what the lieutenant meant, she was suddenly struck by someone else from the side. The two were launched over the other side of the cliff and sent into a free fall down towards the ground.

"Let go!" commanded Soi Fon as the stranger held her by the throat, "Who are you?"

"My my," said the stranger from behind her mask, "don't fuss around so much. You still have just a short a temper as ever."

Reaching up, the stranger untied the scarf that concealed her face, revealing her face.

Soi Fon's eyes widened when she saw her attacker's visage.

"It's, you!"

"Long time no see, Soi Fon,"

(#*$&%^)#%^#_%#%&_&_&#*(_%&)#*(%^)#%^)#%^)#%^)

Rajin looked on solemnly as Yoruichi took Soi Fon over the side of the cliff. A few minutes later, and the tell-tale signs of fighting started.

Rajin, let loose a deep sigh as he turned his attention to the 13th division's 3rd seat.

"Are you alright?" he asked,

"Y-yes," she said, a blush developing on her cheeks, "thank you very much for your help."

'Oh my gosh,' she thought, 'he's as handsome as Captain Ukitake! Who knew someone with glasses could look so hot! But what's his name? I've never seen him before, and he seems pretty strong.'

"Yo, what's with the glum look," called out a rash voice,

Rajin turned to see Kaito, with Gaikotsu in its released form slung over his shoulder as he walked towards them. Beside him walked Keiji, hand on his zanpaktou's hilt as he strode.

"Nothing," replied Rajin, "just a little worried."

"Ah, your girlfriend will be fine," Kaito assured halfheartedly,

Kiyone's spirits instantly dropped, but on the bright side, she realized, she still had Captain Ukitake.

Before Rajin could for a response, the trio noticed another figure walking towards them.

The three tensed as Captain Unohana began to close the distance between them. Though her demeanor and facial expression did not seem particularly hostile, the Black operatives wisely kept their guard up. All of them had heard Kuroda speak highly of Unohana, not just for her incredible skills at healing but also her rumored skills in battle. One did not become a captain, for simply having the ability to heal.

"Do you think we can take her?" whispered Keiji,

"No," Kaito whispered back,

"Right, need a plan then, a plan," he whispered to himself as he readied his zanpaktou.

The Captain however, remained calm and collected as she went about collecting the injured.

The trio of operatives lowered their guard, but just a little.

"Hey," said Keiji, "where's the boss?"

(#(*%^)#(%*^)_#%_)#*(%&)#(%*&_)

Jushiro and Shunsui arrived at their chosen destination on the very outskirts of the Seireitei where many old buildings had been left to simply crumble away into time.

"We're quite a ways away," said Shunsui, "this should be a safe place to do this."

Jushiro grunted in agreement.

"Now that we're out this far, no one else will be injured."

Lieutenant Nanao arrived a few second later, her lungs gasping for breath as she tried to recuperate from her run alongside the captains.

"Nanao, you're here at last!" joked Shunsui,

"You Captains are too fast," she shot back,

She would have continued, if she did not see that the Captain Commander had made it here before them.

"Impressive as always," mumbled Shunsui,

"In all my years, I've never been given the slip by two younglings on the run," said Yamamoto, "let us see if you can keep up with me."

"Won't you at least hear us out?" asked Jushiro hopefully,

"This is far past speaking or a simple knock on the head," replied the Captain Commander,

With that said, the Elderly Shinigami stood to his full height and began walking towards his two adversaries. The wind seemed to take a change as his reiatsu began to build, surrounding him with an ominous flame like aura.

Nanao felt a small amount of fear grip her heart as the Captain Commander began to approach, but she pressed it away as best she could.

'I'm not sure if we can win,' she admitted to herself, 'the only thing I can do is-"

Yamamoto brought down a burst of his reiatsu down upon the three shinigami. To Nanao it was like nothing she'd ever felt before. It was as if the entire world's gravity had just gained weight by a hundred times its normal strength and the air, the air tasted like ash and was breathed as easily as lead.

It was so impossibly heavy and thick for someone like her that she only truly felt it for a moment. The next few were filled with her vision slowly blacking out and the ground reaching up towards her.

Kyoraku quickly grabbed Nanao and whisked her away to a safer place.

"It'll be alright, Nanao," he whispered softly as he laid her down, "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have brought you along."

Knowing that she would be safe, Shunsui returned to the battlefield.

"Impressive," complimented Yamamoto, "you've learned to go quite far at in one go."

"Thanks,"

"To be honest, the two of you have always been special," admitted Yamamoto, "though you had your weakness for women, and you had your sickness, you two always performed exceptionally well. You two were the first Captains to come out of the Academy I established myself. I was proud of you, you were like my own children. I believed, that even though our spirits differed, we walked the same path. But now…I have no words to express my-"

"**GENRYUSAI YAMAMOTO!"**

The savage cry of pure hatred echoed through the air as a black form charged across the plains and landed just a few meters behind the Jushiro and Shunsui.

The two whipped around to see the new comer. Both, were deeply surprised at whom they saw.

"Kuroda," whispered Captain Ukitake,

If Kuroda heard the white haired Captain, he made no indication that he did. All that was apparent with Kuroda at the moment, was that he was in a deep void of hatred and anger. His very stare seemed to have been dipped and molded in a forge of hate, and the way he bore himself was a league away from his usual stance. Before he'd been refined, upright, here, he was hunched like a predator and rippling with excited unused energy.

What's more was his complete and total lack of concern of how much reiatsu he was letting loose. So much of it was flowing out of him that it was almost insane that he hadn't blazed a trail of destruction on his way over here.

Yamamoto looked upon the newcomer with both eyes.

"Kuroda Ryou, I knew that we would meet eventually," said the elderly shinigami,

"Yamamoto, I've been waiting for this day for nearly a century," spat Kuroda, "are you surprised to see me after so many years? Did you hope I would stay in hiding for the rest of life?"

"Never in my life, have a doubted that we'd have this confrontation," replied Yamamoto, "I knew the moment you set foot back into Seireitei, you and I would do battle and in all likely hood, only one of us would walk away."

"Disappointed?"

No response,

"I'm not, no, I'm actually a bit glad that I am the one to meet you in battle," growled Kuroda as he walked past Shunsui and Jushiro, dragging the tip of AnShen across the ground as he did.

"Wait," started Jushiro, "Kuroda I-"

The ex-shinigami turned his gaze at the Captain of the 13th division, his eyes sent chills down Jushiro's spine. Jushiro had almost forgotten, the cold, the evil, the smell of death that accompanied Kuroda's reiatsu.

"Don't get in my way Jushiro," growled Kuroda, "or I won't be able to guarantee that you'll leave here unharmed."

Jushiro, didn't say another word.

Kuroda, brushed off his own rudeness and stalked towards his intended opponent.

"I wish that it did not have to come to this," admitted Yamamoto,

"Like I said before, I'm fine with it this way," replied Kuroda, "that's what Seireitei teaches you over the years, to deal with unfortunate things. Tell me old man, do you still throw away the lives of your men as easily as you'd throw away a piece of trash? Or have you changed?"

"Never has Seireitei taught such principles," protested Yamamoto,

"Really? Because that's what I was taught, that's what you taught me!"

"You of all people, should understand that command comes with the need to let go of your subordinates when the time comes, there is no room for-"

"Spare me! Don't preach to me about that crap! I lived in the deepest darkest corners of this place, I know what your true principles are! I heard you use them on the hill. What was it you said? 'if we kill him, a substitute will suffice'?"

Yamamoto was silent.

"For many years I bared with the way you wanted us to treat our men. I thought for many years that it was what I should do, that you were right. But how can us, the so called protectors of the balance, treat our fellow man in such a way. Do you even think about the eight others, you allowed Central 46, to execute as mere hollows? Did you even try to stop them?"

Again, no response.

"When I joined the organization of the Shinigami, I thought I could help Soul Society. But you don't even try to help the citizens of Rukongai, all you care about is killing hollows, and carrying out the orders of a bunch of foolish politicians, and a faceless king whom we've never seen. Does he even exist?"

"It is clear, that you have much hatred from these years," said Yamamoto,

"Damn right I do,"

With the a flick of his wrist, Kuroda sent a burst of his reiatsu through a wave of his sword. A powerful invisible blade cut its way through the ground and past Yamamoto, missing him by a few inches. But the Captain Commander, did not even turn his head to acknowledge the halfhearted attack.

"But I suppose I should thank Seireitei for showing my one thing," admitted Kuroda, "this world, is broken. Those with power, trample on those they should be helping. And those that are weak, kill each other, to try and reach the status of those who'd trample on them. Humans dominate each other to an injury, and they don't even try to work together. If living in Seireitei has taught me anything, it's that this existence, is meaningless. It'd be best to simply burn all of civilization down and let it start over."

"Always the pessimist," observed Yamamoto, "I am sorry, that you have such a view on life."

"I'm not," whispered Kuroda,

Without another word, Yamamoto raised his cane. Kuroda simultaneously reached into his sleeve and fingered the first seal wrapped around his bicep.

The walking cane of the Captain Commander; suddenly burst into flames and shredded the wooden frame into nothingness, revealing its true form: Yamamoto's zanpaktou.

"There is no more to talk about," declared the Captain Commander,

Yamamoto stabbed his sword into the ground, then tossed off his Captains haori, disrobed the upper half of his body, and unleashed his reiatsu.

Despite being old, Yamamoto had an incredibly well toned and muscular body, one that was covered in the scars of the opponents that had tried to kill him, and failed.

Then there was his reiatsu, it was unlike any other. It took on the image of fire.

A truly fitting aura for the Captain Commander, as he was like a fire that would forever burn and lash out at those who challenged it.

The old man flexed his fingers and gave off a loud crack with each knuckle, when he was finished he reached for his sword.

The moment he gripped the hilt, fire engulfed the entire sword, the blade itself eventually became pure fire though it still retained a ghost of its former shape.

The Captain Commander gave an experimental swing and sent a massive wave of fire rolling towards Kuroda.

The ex-commander shielded his eyes as the fire washed over him. When it was over, Yamamoto's shikai had been released.

"**Reduce all creation to ash: Ryuujin Jakka!"**

Kuroda felt the heat of both the blade and master spilling out in all directions. It was almost unbearable, almost to stand in even its vicinity. But he stood his ground.

"Draw your blade Kuroda," thundered Yamamoto,

Kuroda eagerly complied. In one swift move, he unlatched his seal and called to his blade,

"**Unleash Chaos: AnShen!"**

Kuroda's red reiatsu skyrocketed and engulfed him in a brilliant bloody display as the souls of those he'd killed seemed to dance around him, bemoaning their own death.

His katana was also engulfed in a powerful burst of red, the blade stretched itself out and became wider. The tsuba was exchanged for the demonic looking flat skull that decorated the hilt and whose front tooth served as a guard.

For a single moment, the two stared each other in the eye, letting their reiatsu mix against each other, he dead souls of Kuroda's reiatsu battled with the scorching flames of Yamamoto's reiatsu as if battling for their respective masters.

"AnShen," said Yamamoto, "the most evil zanpaktou to ever grace Soul Society."

Together, the titans clashed in an explosion of fire and death.

($*)#%&^#^*_#%))#*%^)#%^))#%^&)

In the Forests of Seireitei

On a single barren tree, the last leaf that the tree would ever bare, finally fell off.

A flash of movement,

Two warriors clashed together,

And the leaf split.

Yoruichi and Soi Fon broke from their clash and landed on the barren tree.

The ex-captain of the 2nd squad crossed her arms nonchalantly and smirked,

"I see that time had not withered your skill," commented Soi Fon, "but I see that you have not gained any skill either."

"It seems that your skills have dulled quite a bit though," replied Yoruichi,

"That sky walker cloak that the ryoka used had the Shihouin clan symbol on it," said Soi Fon, "you gave it to him didn't you?"

"That's right, he's gotten stronger but he still can't fly like we can," replied Yoruichi,

"My my, how the Shihouin clan has fallen," Soi Fon said smugly, "if it became known that you aided a ryoka, the destruction of one corner of the great four noble houses would be assured."

"My, your talkative today," said Yoruichi, "are you excited from seeing me after such a long time or is this an expression of your usual bitterness? Is it? Captain of the 2nd squad."

"Don't be so full of yourself," growled Soi Fon, clearly angered as she reached for her zanpaktou, "both the Special forces and the Correction corps are under my control now! Your days are long over, Yoruichi"

Soi Fon unsheathed her zanpaktou and sunk it's blade into the thick branch under her.

In an instant, two dozen men appeared, all garbed in the uniform of the special forces branch.

"As the former Captain, you must know, that the drawing of my sword, signifies the start of an execution procedure," said Soi Fon, "the target is any and all that oppose the Captain, even if that one is you, Yoruichi Shihouin. There is nowhere for you to run now."

A brief silence, and Yoruichi let out a devilish grin.

If you blinked, you'd have missed it and all you'd know is that the two dozen men that Soi Fon had taken with her, fell to the ground, knocked out cold.

Soi Fon's eyes were wide with surprise as her men were taken out of the fight as though they'd been nothing more than students and the academy.

"I hate it when I'm underestimated," said Yoruichi, her hair still whipping around from the wind, she'd created, "I certainly abandoned the name of Captain of the 2nd squad, but I don't remember abandoning my other name."

"Flash Goddess," muttered Soi Fon, venom dripping from her voice,

Without another word, Soi Fon tore the sleeves off of her uniform,

"I see now that I have no choice, but to do this with my own hands," she said as she took of her haori, "Flash Goddess, I'll take that title from you as well."

In a flash, the two clashed in a furious frenzy of kicks, punches, each using their speed and expert combat experience to try and gain the edge over the other.

To any eye, it would be neigh impossible to track all their movements.

When the clash ended, and the two woman landed back onto the tree, both sides had taken blows.

"I got one hit," mumbled Soi Fon, as she felt the sting of a blow on her shoulder "one hit for each of us, Yoruichi."

A small dribble of blood traveled down Yoruichi's chin.

"Is there something you have hidden in that uniform?" asked Yoruichi as she wiped the blood from her mouth, "some trick?"

"Trick? Is that really what you think?" asked Soi Fon, almost mocking her adversary,

A second later and Soi Fon was behind Yoruichi, blade of her zanpaktou pressed against the dark skinned woman's throat.

"**Sting all enemies to death: Suzumebachi,"**

Soi Fon's katana transformed itself into a black and gold gauntlet, with a small chain linked to a stinger like blade on her middle finger.

Yoruichi's eyes widened, she quickly shunpo'd out of Soi Fon's grip.

"You won't get away!"

Soi Fon matched Yoruichi's speed and reappeared directly behind the woman, her hand shot out.

Yoruichi landed back on the tree, hand gripping her stomach, breath labored.

"You understand now, don't you," said Soi Fon, "up until now, I've been taking it easy on you. Did you think that there was no way I could best you? I told you not to be too full of yourself. I am the superior warrior now!"

Yoruichi lowered her hand to reveal a butterfly shaped crest, stamped on the spot that Soi Fon had struck.

"Do you remember, the power of my zanpaktou, Yoruichi? The Homonka, the stamp of death carved into the targets body by my first attack. This ability was incomplete when you were here, I have now perfected. With my second strike, Suzumebachi will deliver the final strike!"

Soi Fon shunpo'd, in a flash, she was behind Yoruichi, already preparing to deliver the strike that would end this fight. Anticipation welled up in her, the heat, the need, to finally deliver the kill.

"You certainly have grown up, Soi Fon,"

Soi Fon's hand shot forth and struck, nothing.

The target that had been there but a millisecond ago, was now gone.

Something suddenly grabbed Soi Fon by her hand, before she knew it she was being whipped around like sling and thrown at a tree branch. Soi Fon, getting over her initial shock, flipped herself over and managed to catch herself from smashing into the branch.

But whatever relief she may have felt was short lived, because as soon as she landed, a pair of feet slammed into her backside and drove her down into the side of the tree.

Soi Fon struggled to get up and collect herself back together, as she got midway through picking herself up, a fist smashed into her chin and sent her flying into the air and spinning down the ground below.

Regaining her wits, Soi Fon expertly landed harmlessly back onto the ground.

"What just happened?" she whispered to herself, "it was so fast, I must have let my guard down, foolish thing to do."

"Talking to yourself during battle? You know better,"

Soi Fon whipped around to see Yoruichi perched on a tree branch just above her.

"Focus on the fight," she said,

"Still commanding me as though you're my master, I thought I told you, don't get too full of yourself. You got in a few lucky strikes because I got over confident, it won't happen again," assured Soi Fon,

"Really, lets test to see if it really was luck,"

Soi Fon was the first to act, with a powerful jump she launched herself to Yourichi's level and struck out with Suzumebachi but Yoruichi countered by grabbing Soi Fon by the wrist and tossing her over her shoulder.

Soi Fon easily recovered and bounced back off another tree, shooting back at the purple haired woman like a miniature missile. Yoruichi matched her speed by shooting off her own tree and meeting Soi Fon head on.

Both women executed a perfect whirlwind kick in midair, their legs slammed together and caused a powerful shockwave that sent wind ripping through the trees and shacking hundreds of leaves loose from their branches.

Soi Fon broke the lock first and quickly grabbed Yoruichi by her ankle and attempted to pull the woman in and finish her off with the second strike.

But the ex-captain had expected this, so instead of trying to break out of the grip, she used her trapped foot to actually fling Soi Fon at the ground.

Soi Fon managed to land safely on the ground and raised her arms in a defense as Yoruichi came down on her with a powerful drop kick.

The ex-captain flipped of from her attack, landing a few meters away from her opponent.

Soi Fon came at her with a vengeance, lashing out with all sorts of attacks. But Yoruichi had her figured out, she matched each attack with her own, dodging and blocking all attacks.

Soi Fon shunpo'd behind her and struck out with Suzumebachi, but she slipped up this time. Yoruichi swung around and lashed out with her elbow, striking Soi Fon square in the face. As Soi Fon recoiled from the blow, the ex-captain struck her again in the stomach, shunpo'd behind her and delivered a strong kick to her back.

Soi Fon grabbed for the ground and managed to stop herself as she skidded across the ground.

"Damn it," she cursed, "what's going on? She's so much faster."

"What's going on you ask?"

Soi Fon whipped around to see Yoruichi standing just a couple meters away.

"You said before, that you were taking it easy on me," recalled Yoruichi, "well, up until now, I was taking it easy on you. I hoped to subdue you without using my full strength. But it seems that you have truly progressed to the level of a Captain. But it appears I'm still a bit faster."

"Silence!" screamed Soi Fon,

"Besides, your zanpaktou makes your target a dead giveaway,"

Soi Fon's eyes widened,

"Every move you make, every attack, every step is to make it possible for you to lash out and hit the target you've painted on me," explained Yoruichi, "as long as I know that, I can predict your movements."

Soi Fon's eyes narrowed, her face contorted with rage.

"I see," panted Soi Fon, "than I have no choice."

"Hm?"

"I had intended to finish you off with this new technique, but now it seems I'll be given the satisfaction of completely crushing you with it," said Soi Fon,

"Really?"

"Really," replied Soi Fon,

Without warning, a whirlwind began to form around her, kicking up dust and rock as some sort of power began to surround the 2nd division Captain. Before long a powerful white glow surrounded the small captain, it seemed to resemble kido, but covered the Captain's body like a suit of armor.

Yoruichi's eyes widened.

"Surprised? You've never seen anything like this before have you? It's a new technique I developed, combining hakuda with kido," explained Soi Fon, "I just perfected this technique the other day. This will be the first time I've used it in actual battle. It doesn't even have a name yet."

Yoruichi looked on solemnly and closed her eyes.

"No, it does have a name," she said, though she seemed reluctant to,

"What did you say?"

"It's called, Shunko."

Soi Fon's eyes flashed, "what are you talking about?"

"Did you ever wonder why the uniform I wore, had no fabric on the back or shoulders?" asked Yoruichi, "its because there would be no use for having it."

Yoruichi raised her arm, a flicker of the same energy that surrounded Soi Fon appeared across her arm.

"When the technique is perfected, the user is covered highly-compressed kido on their back and shoulders," explained Yoruichi, "By combusting that kido, it pushes the energy into the legs and arms to fight. In short, the fabric on the back and shoulders would be meaningless, because technique simply tears them away."

The energy began to ripple around Yoruichi, forming itself around her as it did Soi Fon. But this energy seemed much less wild, more refined and controlled, compressed into her body.

True to her word, the white energy simply ripped away the fabric covering her back and shoulders.

The technique was truly frightening and left Soi Fon speechless.

"The truth is, I didn't want to use this technique to fight you Soi Fon," admitted the ex-captain, "even I can't completely control this technique yet."

((*#$%^)(*_#(%*&_)#%*_#%_)#(%*^)

Back on the hill

Rajin watched into the distance as explosion after explosion tore through the forest.

"Please tell me she didn't try to use it," he asked the wind,

No answer of course. But even so, he stared off in the forest, hoping that everything would work out in the end.

"How long's he been standing there?" asked Kaito, from a dozen meters away,

"half an hour," replied Keiji, "I think he's worried about Captain Soi Fon."

"Think we should say anything?"

"Nah, it'll work out."

"I'm leaving," they both heard,

"Huh?"

Kaito turned to see Rajin walking in the direction that Yoruichi and Soi Fon had left.

"Hey! Wait! Aren't we supposed to stay here?" asked Rajin,

"That's a good idea, Keiji, Kaito, stay here, I'm going to go check on something," replied Rajin,

"Don't use your rank like this!" protested Kaito,

"Too late," said Rajin as he dropped off the cliff,

(#*(&%(#*%^_#%%*_)#%()_#%*&_#_%&_#)#*%))

The battlefield was now scarred with trenches and fire, fissures and rubble. The battle between the two woman had escalated exponentially. But even so, this fight had a clear winner now.

"Do you know why I never showed you this technique?" asked Yoruichi, "it's because I believed this technique was far too dangerous to teach you."

'This, can't be' Soi Fon tried to convince herself,

With a vicious scream, she charge forth as the energy whirled around her like a tornado.

But when she struck out,

"Stop,"

She had no success.

Yoruichi calmly grabbed Soi Fon's hand as though it had not even been moving.

"You are not ready for this technique yet," said Yoruichi,

'She stopped may attack by using kido of the same property, but of a different rotation. But she did it so fast, and with such little effort,'

Soi Fon wanted to scream, so she did.

She lashed out at Yoruichi with a series of wild and ferocious attacks, none of which hit their mark.

"Die damn you! Die!" she screamed, "I'm supposed to be the stronger one! A century should have left you weak and given me power!"

The Shunko energy surrounded the tiny captain again, she charged forth, leaving a deep trail in the ground behind her.

"I hated you! I even cursed you," she screamed, "I swore that would become strong and surpass you and then capture you with my own hands!"

She struck out, Yoruichi dodged, rock and rubble exploded from the ground.

"I will not forgive you," she yelled as she began to build the energy into her right arm, more and more,

"I will never forgive you!"

The woman's eyes widened.

"Stop Soi Fon, that's too much energy, you'll-"

"DIE!" she screamed,

Soi Fon attacked with all the energy she had built up in her one arm.

Yoruichi prepared to take the blow and hopefully save them both.

Soi Fon's arm shot forth, but was then suddenly stopped. The energy dissipated and fight came to a stop.

The 2nd division Captain turned to see Rajin holding back her hand, his eyes hard.

"That's enough Soi Fon,"

"Rajin? Let go! I have to kill her," she screamed as she struggled against him, but his grip was like iron and held her in place, "let me go or I'll kill you as well!"

"Is this really what you want?" he asked,

"It's my duty!"

"Is this really out of duty?" he asked, "or is this something personal?"

"What are you talking about?" she spat,

"Just let it out," he whispered,

Soi Fon's eyes widened, her struggling stopped.

"What did you say?" she asked,

"Just let it out," he repeated, "it's okay."

Rajin had spoken the words that up until now, Soi Fon never thought she would hear, or ever want to hear. She was the Captain of the 2nd division, her status required her to keep relationships professional, to deaden herself. To become a cold hard killer, thus, she never let out her emotions.

But with those few words, Rajin had just unlocked the gate that held her back. He'd given her permission, to do something she'd never allow herself to do.

"Why?" she whispered, as she turned back to Yoruichi, "why didn't you take me with you?"

She was on the brink.

"Why didn't you take me?" she asked again, her lips quivered, her eyes began to water, "I would have gone anywhere with you."

Finally, she fell.

Fell to her knees, tears dropping from her eyes as all the hate, all the sadness, all the hurt that had built up over the century, finally came pouring out.

Rajin lowered himself down for her and wrapped his arms around the small woman. She began to sob uncontrollably into his chest, her cries wormed their way into his heart.

He stroked her head as she continued to cry, he'd stay with her as long as she needed him, how long that would be, it didn't matter.

"You truly have become stronger, Soi Fon," whispered Yoruichi,

(#*%&^#)%^*()#%^))#%&*)(#%*^)_#%*(_#%)#%)*(&)#%)

"Well, guess that fight is over," commented Keiji from their new perch on top of one of the Seireitei towers,

"Yup, the only ones left so far, are that fight between Captain Kuchiki and the Commander's student, and the one between the Commander and Captain Commander Yamamoto," surmised Kaito,

"Yeah, those are some real heavy hitting fights, I'm glad I'm not in the middle of them," said Keiji,

"I wonder what Rangiku is doing," mumbled Kaito,

"Wha-we're in the middle of battle and you worried about that woman with oversized breasts?" shouted Keiji, "the Commander could be in danger! Or some of the other Captains could show up! How are you thinking of your-"

"There's nothing to worry about," interrupted Kaito,

"Huh?"

"If there's one thing the Commander has always told me, its to not worry about him," said Kaito, "he always comes out on top in the end."

(#$*(&%^)#%*(^_#%+_#+%&+#%*+)#%)*(#%&_)

The sky split, the ground cracked, the whole world shook as Kuroda and Yamamoto's blades smashed into each other.

Fire mixed with death, pure anger fought against time honored beliefs, the devil laughed at the sight of so much chaos.

But only one thought entered into Kuroda's mind at that one moment,

_I'm not sure, if I can beat him_

**End**

**A/N**

**Okay, I worked pretty hard to get this chapter out but that's okay because I've been looking forward to writing it. Don't expect the next one to come out so quickly but it won't be more than a month long wait I'm pretty sure.**

**As you may have noticed the fight between Soi Fon and Yoruichi was changed a bit. I did this because I felt that the fight between the two in the manga and anime didn't do Yoruichi enough justice. I mean come on, she's Yoruichi, plus she didn't really seem to be winning until she used Shunko. I didn't think that made a lot of sense on how she just pulls something out on the last minute.**

**Anyway, that's that. Next chapter will be all about the fight between Kuroda and Yamamoto. It will be friggin epic!**

**Character submissions are still open.**

**Please subscribe and review!**

**Omake time!**

**Dreamerboy84 waits by his computer like he does every day, waiting for inspiration to come whack him on the head.**

**He sits there waiting.**

**Nothing comes.**

**He decides to play some video games.**

**Nothing.**

**He decides to talk to his sister.**

**Nothing.**

**He decides to talk to his mother.**

**Now he's pissed**

**He decides to go drink something.**

**Now he's hungry.**

**He decides to go eat something.**

**Now he's sleepy.**

**Now he goes to sleep. But as he sleeps, Kuroda comes along with a big stick. Raises it above his head and smashes it down on DB84's head.**

"**OW!" he screams, "what the heck! I was sleeping!"**

"**I'm just here to give you your inspiration," says Kuroda, he holds up the stick to show that it reads "inspiration stick: please use when having writing block"**

"**Oh, okay. Hey! I just thought up of a great idea!"**

**DB84 then runs to the computer like he does every night and begins to write the next chapter.**


	19. Chapter 19

**HEHehehehe, this will be fun….yeah….that's all I really have to say. OC submissions are still open to anyone who is interested.**

Chapter 19

Shock and Awe

Keiji and Kaito stood upon their perch on top of one of the dozens of towers scattered across Seireitei. Neither spoke a single word as watched the clash of their Commander and the Captain Commander do battle and though they did not see the two themselves, they knew that it had to be a battle of great magnitude.

Even from here, so many miles away, gouts of fire and the Commander's reiatsu could be seen shooting up into the sky.

The two were suddenly joined by a third member of their little insurrection.

"Kaito, Keiji,"

"Yoruichi,"

"Lady Yoruichi," said Keiji, giving a small bow,

"Where's Kuroda?" she asked,

"Over there," said Kaito, pointing out towards the battlefield.

Yoruichi was silent as she watched the sparks of battle from such a distance. Her eyes displayed her worry and fear, her heart urged her to go fight at his side, but she restrained herself. She knew that the fight Kuroda was going through should be fought alone.

"Lady Yoruichi?" asked Keiji,

"Hm? What is it?"

"Do, do you think that Commander Ryou will be alright?"

There was a slight pause before she responded, "Yes, yes I do. He'll be fine, it's Kuroda after all, he knows how to handle himself."

(($&%^)#(%*^)#*(%#%_#%)#)%*^)#%*^)#%*^)#)%*^)#)

Pain coursed through his back as he went tumbling across the ground and crashing through at least three wrecked buildings. Next thing he knew, he was buried under a pile of rubble.

Captain Commander Yamamoto stood tall, his Ryuujin Jakka alive in his hands.

His last clash with Kuroda had turned in his favor and sent the ex-commander barreling away.

Beneath the rubble, Kuroda cursed his own weakness.

"Come out Kuroda Ryou," he heard the elderly shinigami call, "I know that you are not dead."

With nothing to lose, Kuroda emerged from the rubble.

Yamamoto looked over his opponent, a few scuffs, a few patches of dirt, but other than that, the man seemed relatively unharmed.

"I would have been disappointed if you had not risen from that attack," admitted Yamamoto, "but you were never one to give up."

Kuroda gave no response, all he did was glare with his devil's eyes at his opponent. Without a single word, he raised AnShen.

Together, the two disappeared, and clashed again.

To describe it would be like describing how it would seem when two mountains suddenly smashed against each other, fear inspiring.

Once again, the dead howled as Kuroda's reiatsu washed out from him and fire scorched the earth as though the sun itself had decided to unleash its anger upon it.

Kuroda struggled against the elder shinigami with all his might, his throat letting out a fierce battle cry as he vented his power upon his opponent. But Yamamoto matched him pound for pound, reiatsu for reiatsu.

Kuroda was the first to break the lock.

With a powerful push from his shoulders, he tossed Yamamoto's defense aside, quickly raised AnShen over his head and brought it down.

But the Captain Commander would not be so easily defeated. Matching Kuroda's speed he raised his guard back up and parried the overhead strike.

The ground cracked.

Kuroda raised AnShen again and viciously smashed it's blade against Yamamoto's defense, the Captain Commander didn't even budge.

Sparks exploded as AnShen's blade grinded against Ryuujin Jakka.

This time Yamamoto broke the lock and pushed Kuroda away. The ex-shinigami stumbled back a few steps before raising AnShen just in time to block Yamamoto's riposte. But unlike when Kuroda had attacked and Yamamoto had held his ground, AnShen was forced to back up from the pure force that Yamamoto's attack carried.

'Damn it' he mentally cursed,

Without hesitation he took up the attack.

Breaking away from Yamamoto for only a second, Kuroda lashed out with a strong strike up from his hip. Yamamoto of course easily blocked the attack.

Kuroda's attack however, kept carrying up and dragged him up with it. Now a good five feet in the air, Kuroda's attack carried even more weight to it, his sword came down upon his opponent.

Once again Yamamoto blocked.

But once again, Kuroda wasn't finished yet.

Using the elder shinigami's sword and his own like a balance board, he carried himself up and over Yamamoto, landing him perfectly behind the old man.

He instantly lashed out with AnShen, but again Yamamoto blocked.

Kuroda growled.

With a powerful roll of his shoulders, Yamamoto literally shoved Kuroda back.

Swinging Ryuujin Jakka in a wide arc, Yamamoto sent a giant wave of fire rolling across the battlefield.

Kuroda quickly collected himself and readied his own attack,

"**Shino Kabe!"**

Swinging his sword, he let loose the wave of the dead.

The red wall of horrors clashed with Yamamoto's deadly wave of fire.

The two powers fought against each other with blinding intensity was death struck out against fire. Soon, both attacks exceeded their lifespan and exploded in a brilliant display of power.

Two warriors, burst through all the smoke and fire and rejoined their blades against each other. The pure force of their exertion scattering all dust and smoke away, leaving the air as clean as it was before.

The two struggled against each other once again, the ground cracked beneath them, and the sky above seemed to split itself.

The two broke off at the same time.

Kuroda raised his sword,

"**Shibou Ryuu!"**

Slicing his sword down, Kuroda unleashed the creature from hell. Hungry jaws, arrow like head, wispy tail, all thundered towards the elderly shinigami, practically carving a trench through the ground as it raced towards its prey.

Yamamoto, ever calm, raised his sword, an sliced it through the air. A powerful blade of fire dropped down on the red creature. Engulfing the battlefield in another powerful explosion.

Yamamoto stood unfazed by the soot and smoke.

Suddenly, Kuroda appeared out of thin air right behind the Captain Commander. Bringing down AnShen with a mighty swing, reiatsu infused into the blood to raise it's killing power dramatically.

Without even turning, Yamamoto raised his blade and stopped the attack dead in its tracks.

Suddenly, Kuroda was in front of Yamamoto, sword already in full swing.

The elderly shinigami was initially surprised, but quickly moved Ryuujin Jakka in place just in time to block the attack.

The moment their blades made contact, Kuroda disappeared, then reappeared on Yamamoto's other side.

The Captain Commander quickly pivoted off his foot, avoiding another attack.

"Impressive speed," said Yamamoto,

"**Shibou Ryuu!"**

The red missile launched itself from Kuroda's sword, screeching towards its intended target.

Yamamoto immediately countered with powerful swing, unleashing another wave of fire.

The missile collided head on with Yamamoto's attack.

"**Shino"**

Yamamoto swung around,

"**Kabe!"**

Kuroda watched as the wall of dead engulfed the Captain Commander.

"Did I get him?" he whispered to himself,

His breath was now labored, and grip wasn't as strong as it was at the beginning of the fight. Kuroda was fighting a losing battle and he knew it, but like Yamamoto had said, he was never one to give up.

As if on cue, a massive pillar of fire erupted from beneath the wave of dead and reiatsu, instantly burning it away.

Yamamoto stood, a bit roughed up, but otherwise completely unharmed.

Kuroda snorted at the unnecessary display of power.

"An impressive attack," commented Yamamoto, "distracting me with one side, then attacking my other. A textbook maneuver, however, the fight is far from over."

Raising Ryuujin Jakka over his head, Yamamoto let loose an amazing burst of reiatsu, fueling the fire that surrounded him to epic proportions.

With well-practiced muscles, Yamamoto executed a perfect vertical slice.

"Oh crap,"

A stream of fire came racing at Kuroda like a train traveling at top speed.

As soon as he cleared the deadly attack, another one came rolling in, then another, and another.

Kuroda flinched as the fire came within a hair's width of his skin, singeing it ever so slightly, even his cloak carried a few burn marks now.

Yamamoto was suddenly right in front of him, another attack already in motion.

Kuroda quickly rolled himself out of the, just barely escaping the deadly touch of the flame infused blade.

"Not so fast," called Yamamoto,

A firey pillar suddenly erupted from the ground, scorching the earth and cleansing the air.

From out of it, Kuroda burst through the flames, his skin lightly burned in multiple areas.

Yamamoto chased after him and sent dozens of waves of fire rolling after Kuroda.

Thinking quickly, the ex-shinigami stopped himself, calling to AnShen, he began wildly slashing his sword through the air as quickly as possible. Each swing left behind a trail of red energy that emitted the bone chilling wail that his power always carried.

With a single mental command, Kuroda sent the dozens of slash marks racing to meet the waves of fire.

The two armies collided in a brilliant display of destruction, almost giving off a festive display, a very deadly festive display.

Yamamoto suddenly exploded through the violent battlefield and attacked Kuroda head on, one of the red slash marks immediately jumped to Kuroda's aid.

It willingly blocked the attack for Kuroda, then detonated itself.

But once again, Yamamoto had escape all harm.

Kuroda called to the remaining slash marks and sent them on the elder. Yamamoto easily countered with his own wall of fire, making all of the deadly missiles detonate prematurely.

"Die!"

Kuroda was now behind the elder, sword raised to deliver the final strike.

"Such recklessness,"

Unexpectedly, Yamamoto struck out with his left arm, catching Kuroda square in the stomach with his elbow.

Kuroda felt pain immediately, he felt it even as he dropped to the ground and plowed through the earth.

His landing through up loads of dirt and rock, he gripped his stomach in response to the pain. He let out one violent cough as he pushed himself back up. A dribble of blood ran down his lips, along with a dozen new cuts and bruises, plus his shoulder had been dislocated.

Yamamoto stood unwaveringly, observing his opponent, awaiting the man's next move.

"Are you finished?" he asked,

Kuroda's response was to grab his shoulder and brutally pop it back into place.

"Why do you not remove the rest of your seals?" questioned Yamamoto, "surely you must know that you have no hope of defeating me like this."

Kuroda spat some blood on the ground and resumed his stance, opting not to reply. But in truth, he knew very well that he couldn't win.

'What do I do?' he asked himself, 'he has me out matched in every category, if I released my second band, maybe…No, I can't, I refuse to do so. But what about…no, even worse.'

"what's the matter?" asked Yamamoto, "scared?"

Kuroda let out a feral growl, and sprung forth.

(%#)%(*^#)%(^)#%)#(%)*#)(%^*)

On the outskirts of the battlefield

Shunsui and Jushiro watched as Kuroda attacked again.

"This is getting bad," started Jushiro, "we should-"

"Stay here," finished Shunsui,

"What? No! We have to-"

"Calm down Jushiro," said Shunsui, "Kuroda knows what he's doing."

"But if this keeps going, one of them really will die!"

Shunsui let out a weighty sigh, "we'll just have to trust that everything will work out in the end. If we go into that fray, there's no guarantee that Kuroda will stay his blade from our throats."

"But still, we should-"

"We can't do anything Jushiro," repeated Shunsui, "we'll just stay here and hope that they can work things out."

In the distance, another explosion went off.

(#$#F&^$&(^*#(((*#&^$^^%&*#*)

Kuroda let out a growl of pain as he recoiled from Yamamoto's latest attack.

Stopping only for a second, Kuroda retaliated with a savage combo of slashes. Yamamoto once again blocked them all and replied with a wide swing.

Kuroda threw back his head, just missing the tip of the blade as it passed just a few centimeters from his eyes.

"Hado: 33 Sokatsui!"

Blue lighting shot out from Kuroda's palm and slammed against the elder, only for the fire to once again deny Kuroda his goal.

Kuroda jumped away and shouted "Hado: 63 Raikoho!"

A massive wave of yellow lightning lashed out from Kuroda's outstretched hand to fry the elder, but again, the flames of Ryuujin Jakka denied his attack.

Yamamoto burst through his own shield, fire swirling around his blade as he swung it at his opponent. Kuroda wrapped his own blade in his red reiatsu and met Yamamoto head on.

Their blades clashed, and their powers smothered each other in a violent frenzy of destruction. With each swing they made against each other, their release became stronger, mixing together like a whirpool.

With a final push, Kuroda, unexpectedly stepped in closer and slipped AnShen passed Yamamoto's defense. The tip of the blade bit into Yamamoto's skin and drew blood.

Kuroda quickly jumped back.

A thin line of red crossed Yamamoto's ribs. A shallow wound, but still better then nothing.

"Well done," complimented Yamamoto, "I'd expect nothing less from you."

"I'm not done yet," whispered Kuroda,

"Of course not, but unfortunately, I have not the patience to drag this out any longer," called Yamamoto,

"What did you say?"

"Let me show you, the gap between us, one that has allowed me to stay the Captain Commander for over 1000 years,"

The elderly shinigami's reiatsu suddenly washed over Kuroda like an tsunami over the land.

Without hesitation, Yamamoto swung Ryuujin Jakka.

Fire rolled over the lands and consumed Kuroda.

(%(#)#$)#*%)#%_#%)#%)(%##)%&*#)*&%^)#)

"Kuroda," whispered Yoruichi as she saw the Captain Commander's latest attack,

"I'm, sure Kuroda didn't die from that," Kaito said, a bit of uncertainty in his voice,

Yoruichi nodded, though more to assure herself then the others.

'Kuroda' she said to herself, 'please, whatever your reasons may be for wearing them. If it comes to it, take off the second band.'

The wind whistled through the sky,

Yoruichi could almost hear Kuroda's answer, it didn't comfort her.

(*!#%&*())!#%^))!#*&%^)^$!&*#()%^((#%)_)!#%)#*)&%!^)

Yamamoto's ancient eyes cracked open.

The land in front of him had been mercilessly scorched into nothing but ash and smoke. But in the middle of all the ruin, Kuroda still lived.

But just barely.

His breath was not horribly labored as his lungs gasped for air. A new burn covered the side of his neck and his posture was now more noticeably slouched.

Dropping to his knees with only AnShen holding him up, Kuroda felt the life drain away from him.

"Unless you plan on dying, I suggest you release the rest of your seals," said Yamamoto, "your death will be a pitiful one otherwise."

"I don't need to," Kuroda managed to say through much effort, "I refuse to do so."

Yamamoto's eyes remained hard, "so stubborn."

"I didn't really want to use this so early in the battle, and before you released your own, but I suppose I have no choice," said Kuroda as he dragged himself back up, "I won't release my second seal, but I refuse to lose to you either."

"Hm?"

"Just remember," continued Kuroda as he stretched AnShen out, "I will not stop, until either you, or I, fall to the ground!"

Yamamoto's eyes widened,

"**BAN-KAI!"**

Red reiatsu engulfed Kuroda as it slowly formed into a massive tornado of damned souls and wails of despair. A chill permeated into the air, the air seemed to become stale, with a small hint of blood.

Dust was thrown in to the air, causing an artificial storm that obscured their battlefield to all those who'd watch.

Yamamoto's eyes widened ever so slightly as he felt Kuroda's reiatsu become stronger, denser, darker. With a final burst, the tornado disappated and scattered the dust away.

It was then, that Yamamoto get his first glimpse of his new opponent.

Kuroda stood in his new form, power radiating from his body. His black cloak had been completely torn away and replaced with a new, dark red trench coat, very similar to the one worn by AnShen. But it carried many differences. The main one being the intricate pattern of black on the back.

One could never describe it with words other than dark and hellish. The patterns, the symbols, all of them seemed to paint a picture of hell in some perverse, abstract way. Chief among the symbols was the demonic skull in that took up the majority of Kuroda's backside. It had a long snout, almost like a lambs, but on its sides were two horns, that curled like a ram's.

Then there were the leather vambraces that protected his forearms, each seemed to be made of some black metal. The designs were beautiful but also twisted.

The third and final change to Kuroda's visage was his face, now bore two thick, dark lines that ran down from his fore head and crossed over his eyes and ended at his chin.

But Kuroda was not the only one who'd changed.

AnShen, though still quite similar to its previous form, bore a much more demonic, sinister looking skull and along its blade were three runic symbols, all three seemed to glow hungrily for blood.

This, was Kuroda's power, this was his bankai

"**Zenkai no mokushi"**

There was a cold silence as Yamamoto surveyed Kuroda, trying to decipher what new power this was.

"This is your first time seeing my bankai, isn't it," realized Kuroda, Yamamoto was silent, "that means you don't know the power of my bankai."

"It matters not," replied Yamamoto, "the end of this battle will be the same."

"We'll see,"

Without warning, Kuroda suddenly appeared in front of Yamamoto with AnShen already in full swing. Yamamoto quickly raised Ryuujin Jakka to block.

The difference in Kuroda's power, was instantly known to Yamamoto as Kuroda's blade smashed into Yamamoto's with enough force to send him skidding back.

Kuroda, his blade still locked with Yamamoto's, followed up,

"**Shino Kabe"**

Yamamoto's eyes widened,

A massive explosion engulfed the two warriors, throwing up a gigantic mushroom cloud that extinguished the flames that had been set by the Captain Commander.

Yamamoto broke out from the smoke, his previously untouched body now covered in minor burns.

"He got faster, his attacks now have more bite," he whispered,

"If you don't pay attention to the fight," he heard from inside the smoke,

Kuroda burst through after his opponent, attack already prepared, "then this fight, really will end."

"**Shibou Ryuu!"**

Kuroda launched his attack, but this one was noticeably different from before. Instead of the arrow headed creature with hungry teeth, this missile was long and had a full-fledged face.

It's eyes, all four of them, were small and it's snout was still retained some semblance of the arrow head in the new shape similar to that of a ship's bow and it's mouth was still full of razor sharp teeth.

Yamamoto raised his sword and sent a stream of fire at the red creature.

The fire collided with the creature, both canceled out in a powerful explosion.

"That was an attack with the same power that I used last time," whispered Yamamoto, "his power has increased exponentially."

Kuroda walked through the smoke, his demeanor calm yet fierce.

"Your power has definitely grown, I will give you that much," said Yamamoto, "but it is nothing that any other bankai cannot already do, I see nothing special in your Bankai."

"You will," whispered Kuroda "you will"

"**Shino Kabe"**

Kuroda swung his sword his sword and let loose his wall of death. Yamamoto countered with his own wall of flame, but just like Kuroda's Shibou Ryuu, this attack had also changed.

There was the ever so distant sound of a horse's whinny as the wall took on the image of skeletal riders, dressed in black cloaks, charging upon their long dead steeds towards the firey inferno.

The two waves collided and let loose a blinding light as they canceled each other out in yet another explosion.

Yamamoto scanned the smoke as he waited for Kuroda to make his next move.

Something suddenly shot out from the smoke, something small but incredibly fast. Yamamoto just barely managed to bat it away with Ryuujin Jakka before it made impact.

But then the strangest thing happened, it, for lack of a better word, splattered across his blade. Small drops of the substance fell upon the bare skin of Yamamoto's chest.

"What was that?" he asked Kuroda as the man became visible, "did you truly think you could defeat me with such a pitiful attack?"

"Pitiful? You say?" asked Kuroda, "I'd wait a few moments before passing judgement."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look," pointed Kuroda, "it's already begun."

Yamamoto suddenly began to feel a stinging pain upon each of the spots that had been splattered on his chest; he soon realized that the substance was actually burning through him!

"What is this?" questioned Yamamoto, his demeanor calm despite the burns on his chest,

"One of the powers of my bankai," explained Kuroda, "you were right before, when you said my zanpaktou is the evilest zanpaktou to ever grace Soul Society."

Red veins of power suddenly began to leak some sort of mist up from the ground around Kuroda, then there was some sort of sound.

Yamamoto listened in and realized, the sound was the same wail that his attacks always carried.

"You see them don't you?" asked Kuroda,

The leak became stronger, turning almost into a mist,

"Frightening, aren't they?"

The veins burst, letting the mist turn into a full-fledged fog, no, not a fog, something even more.

"The souls, of those I've killed,"

Yamamoto's eyes widened.

"That's right Captain Commander Yamamoto, the souls of those I've killed, of those who've died by AnShen's blade," said Kuroda as the fog swirled around them,

Yamamoto's eyes now bore witness to Kuroda's power. Just staring at him from Yamamoto's position, an army of the souls that had always appeared in his reiatsu, or in his attacks surrounded him like an unending cloak.

The wailing was louder now, almost deafening.

"Did you know, that a zanpaktou has multiple masters?" asked Kuroda, "not at the same time of course but over the course of history."

"We live in a world where a soul dies, is reincarnated, dies, and then reincarnates again, in an endless cycle. Of those who become Shinigami, another spirit, a zanpaktou is assigned to them."

"Have you never wondered, what happens to that spirit, when the soul it is assigned to, dies?"

Yamamoto did not respond,

"AnShen told me what happens. The spirit, goes into a coma of sorts, hiding its presence for thousands upon thousands of years. Until one day, it finds a new soul to share itself with."

"AnShen has had many masters over its life. Though not every single one of them mastered AnShen like I did, they all performed its will. They killed for it, they drenched AnShen's blade in the blood of their enemies."

"That is what you see before you, Genryusai Yamamoto, what you see before you, are pieces of the hundreds of thousands of souls AnShen has struck down. This, is but one of AnShen's true powers. Of all of the shinigami in Soul Society, I suppose I was the only true, Death God"

Yamamoto was silent as he continued to stare at the souls that swirled around them, each singing their song of sorrow.

"But you still haven't seen what I can do with them, have you?" realized Kuroda, "allow me to rectify that."

Suddenly, the entire sea of souls, suddenly vanished, leaving them back on the battlefield.

Yamamoto looked around, trying to find any signs of the hellish plane that Kuroda had taken them to.

"Confused?" asked Kuroda, "you won't be for very long"

With a simple mental command, Kuroda unleashed his horde.

From thin air, the same viscous material that Kuroda had launched earlier, materialized just a foot or so from his head and launched itself at Yamamoto.

Yamamoto quickly batted away the surprisingly quick projectile, but like before, it splattered on contact and covered his entire chest in the stuff.

The burn was immediate this time as pain stung against his chest, but it was nothing that he couldn't handle.

"The corrosive effect is less powerful with stronger opponents," admitted Kuroda, "but still, enough of it, and you'll end up like a puddle on the ground."

Without hesitation, Kuroda fired another projectile, then another and another, soon he was firing them off like a machine gun.

Yamamoto released the fires of Ryuujin Jakka, the viscous liquid clashed with fire. To the liquid's credit it made it five feet or so in the scorching flames before evaporating entirely.

"But even this power, is no match for my Ryuujin Jakka," observed Yamamoto as he called for more flames,

"We shall see,"

Kuroda called to more of his souls as he rushed forward, firing them off as he went. Yamamoto met his charge with his own. The liquid continued to evaporate in the flames, but Kuroda was firing them in large quantities now, meaning the stuff was getting closer and closer.

Together, the two clashed their blades against each other. Both broke off at the same time and swung again, each attack canceling the other out.

They soon became entangled in a furious frenzy of blows, each canceling out the other's attack, riposting only for the other to cancel it out.

Kuroda swept low with his leg, Yamamoto jumped and swung his sword down. Ichigo parried and tossed off the attack, returning with a few heavy swipes.

Yamamoto blocked and swept wide with his flaming sword. Kuroda back flipped away,

"**Shino Kabe Dikei"**

Kuroda swung his sword and let loose the calvary of the dead.

The skeletal riders charged forth on their mounts, Yamamoto responded with another wave of fire.

But had he noticed the extra word put into Kuroda's command, he might have decided to put in a little more power behind that attack.

The two waves collided, there was a brief struggle as the two powers battled for control. But this time, Yamamoto paid the price for underestimating Kuroda.

The mounted skeletons broke through the wall of fire with energy to spare, they charged towards the Captain Commander.

Yamamoto, thinking quickly, surrounded himself with a pillar of fire.

The wall smashed into the pillar, but it did not detonate as Yamamoto believed it would. He realized too late, this attack was made of the same substance as the corrosive material Kuroda had shot at him.

The viscous material seeped its way through the fire, the skeletal riders urged their steeds to go further, forcing their way through. Yamamoto quickly attempted to burn the attack away, but it was already too late. The material grabbed hold, then detonated.

Kuroda felt a sick sense of satisfaction as he watched the old man get caught in his attack. Smoke obscured his view but quickly drifted away.

Yamamoto was not dead yet, but he could no longer say he was unharmed. The entire right side of his shoulder and a good amount of his arm was burned.

"I was expecting more damage," admitted Kuroda, "oh well."

"Yours is a truly terrifying power, Kuroda Ryou," said the old man begrudgingly, "it appears, I will have to use my full power, to fight you properly."

Kuroda 's eyes widened ever so slightly.

Yamamoto let loose a powerful burst of reiatsu, without warning, he was suddenly right in front of Kuroda.

Quickly pushing of his foot, Kuroda narrowly avoided being killed right then and there.

He fired a volley of souls at Yamamoto, only for him to rush right through them as the fire that now surrounded his body burned through it.

From then on, it was a furious fight for Kuroda to stay away from the Captain Commander's devastating attacks.

"**Shibou Ryuu Dikei!"**

Kuroda swung AnShen and let loose his attack creature,

It only served to momentarily hold off the Captain Commander as he, quite literally, barreled through it.

A wave of fire partially caught Kuroda and singed his right side.

'God damn it!' he mentally cursed as he blocked a devastating attack, 'in my Bankai, and still so far!'

Kuroda dodged the next attack, but the pure force of it hitting the ground was enough to send him tumbling across the ground.

Kuroda quickly leapt to his feet and sent a powerful stream of souls towards Yamamoto, the old man countered with a powerful fire infused slash of his zanpaktou.

Kuroda took advantage of the momentary distraction, he commanded the souls of the dead to wrap themselves around AnShen, then rushed the Captain Commander. But the elder shinigami was too quick and raised his sword in defense just in time.

Kuroda violently swung his sword against the elder, each blow sending the Captain Commander skidding back little by little.

Yamamoto jumped away from Kuroda's next attack and sent another powerful stream of fire at the ex-shinigami.

"**Shibou Ryuu Dikei!"**

Kuroda fired his own attack.

The two forces met, smashed into each other. But this time, Yamamoto's attack broke through Kuroda's beast.

"What?"

Flames rolled over him, Kuroda swung his sword, leaving traces of energy behind each one. The marks protected him from the flames, but even they eventually whittled away under the onslaught of fire.

In an act of desperation, Kuroda commanded all of his slash marks to detonate.

The explosion of some many of his attacks detonating at once was massive, it wiped Yamamoto's flames away and left him alive, but just barely.

Blood now streamed down his forehead, his entire trench coat now had various tares and cuts in it, and his energy was no all used up. He barely had the strength to stand, the only thing supporting him was AnShen.

"Damn you," he muttered as he struggled back into position.

"Give up," said Yamamoto, "you can no longer fight, I applaud you for injuring as much as you did, but to go on any longer would be pointless."

"Shut up," Kuroda spat back, "I don't need your damn charity, I won't stop as long as I can draw breath. I have no waited 100 years, only to stop now, I refuse to quit!"

Yamamoto stared at the man, a small flicker of respect in his old eyes,

"I see," he said, "I would have expected nothing else."

Yamamoto raised Ryuujin Jakka, flames engulfed the blade.

Kuroda raised AnShen,

"Prepare yourself!"

Yamamoto sprung forward, before Kuroda could even react, the old shinigami was in front of him. Kuroda raised AnShen to block, but he was too weak.

As soon as Yamamoto batted away Kuroda's guard, he quickly turned his sword around and attacked again.

Kuroda tried to jump away, but it was in vain. Pain crippled Kuroda's senses as Ryuujin Jakka tore through his side.

'Damn it! I have to win!'

Yamamoto was upon him again, a powerful overhead slash already in progress.

Kuroda jumped back, Ryuujin Jakka's tip nicking his cheek.

'I refuse to lose!'

Yamamoto thrust his sword forward, Kuroda desperately tried to side step.

The next few moments, were the most terrifying moments Kuroda had experienced for many centuries.

He saw Ryuujin Jakka.

He pushed off his foot.

The tip of the blade came at him.

Kuroda felt his body move to the side.

The thrust would miss, he could see this.

But his eyes kept following the blade.

The blade kept moving.

His eyes widened.

He tried to move his arm, but it was too late.

The blade moved closer

Closer

Closer

Closer

He could feel the blade as it went through his most guarded possession

NO!

Ryuujin Jakka's blade cut the second band

Time seemed to slow as the seal fell, but it would never reach the ground at Kuroda's feet.

The moment, it left Kuroda's arm, the beat that had laid dormant in him for so many years, finally broke out.

In an incredible display of power, Kuroda suddenly lashed out with his free hand.

Yamamoto, surprised by the man's speed, just barely managed to throw up a defense with his own free hand.

What surprised him even more, was the fact that as soon as the blow made contact with his arm. Yamamoto was sent skidding back, dozens of meters away, leaving huge scars in the ear where his feet had been dragged.

An even more, the blow alone had left a large bruise on his arm.

"what was that?" he asked himself,

A second later, he had his answer. A gigantic pillar of reiatsu unleashed itself from Kuroda's body, blowing away rock, earth, rubble, anything within the vicinity.

The ground beneath the man began to crack, not just small cuts, but large fissures.

Yamamoto's eyes widened as he bore witness.

'What is this reiatsu?' he asked himself, 'what is this feeling? It's so dense and dark. I can still feel that it belongs to a shinigami and not a hollow, but it's almost unbelievable that any shinigami could possess such an evil feeling reiatsu.'

Yamamoto snapped out of his contemplation, when the sound of laughter suddenly broke through the air. He looked and saw that it was coming from, Kuroda!

Yes, Kuroda was laughing. But not a laugh of joy, or happiness, no, not one born of a ones feelings. This laugh was full of malice, evil, insanity.

Kuroda continued to howl madly, the sound sending a chill to those who could hear it.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" howled Kuroda,

"What has possessed you boy? Have you gone mad?" shouted Yamamoto,

"Mad?" asked Kuroda, his laughter finally ceasing.

'His voice is different,' thought Yamamoto, 'reeks of insanity'

"I'm not Mad," said Kuroda, his voice sounding as though it danced on a knife, "I'm not insane either, no, I'm just…"

Kuroda looked up,

"REALLY EXCITED!"

Yamamoto's eyes widened when he saw Kuroda's eyes. They were no longer the steely eyes of the man of resolve that Kuroda was, no longer the eyes of one who'd seen many hardships but kept himself from the abyss, no longer the eyes of the man who'd stared death in the face and seen it walk away.

No, these were the eyes of a psychopath, a madman. The stare that Kuroda gave him, seemed to come directly from the depths of hell. Eyes that showed of a man that had given himself to the abyss.

The elderly shinigami's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as Kuroda drew back his sword, and shouted,

"**Shino Kabe!"**

Horses whinnied as the calvary from hell sounded their charge. Yamamoto's eyes widened, surprised by how fast the attack had gotten, he didn't even have enough time to counter with his own attack.

He quickly called for Ryuujin Jakka to throw up a pillar of fire around him, to protect from the oncoming charge.

Ryuujin Jakka responded and surrounded Yamamoto with fire.

The calvary charge met the pillar of fire head on, smashing into it with tremendous force.

From inside the pillar, Yamamoto felt a jab of surprise he saw a skeletal hand, literally break through his shield of fire and drag a itself inside, already half the skeleton was inside.

"It seems that I must take your attacks more seriously now," he realized, with an added burst, the skeletons were consumed,

The attack exploded.

Not even Yamamoto's shield kept him safe from the magnitude of the explosion as it tore through the pillar of fire.

Yamamoto jumped out the smoke, covered in a fresh set of burns and minor wounds.

Kuroda burst through the smoke screen, howling with his evil laugh as he repeated smashed AnShen against Yamamoto's defense, never letting up.

He jumped, flipped and twisted in the air, Kuroda attacked from every possible angle. Yamamoto held against the vicious onslaught.

Kuroda came down with a two handed over the head attack that smashed against Yamamoto's blade, then bounced off the sword, launching himself into the air.

"**Shibou Ryuu!"**

Kuroda launched his attack from the air, sending the creature spiraling towards Yamamoto. The Captain Commander answered with a powerful swing of his fire infused blade. Ryuujin Jakka held the creature at bay, then sliced clean through it.

"Up here!" called Kuroda,

Yamamoto turned his eyes skyward just in time to see Kuroda launch his next attack,

"**Shino Ka-"**

Yamamoto called forth a pillar of fire.

Kuroda quickly canceled his attack and flipped away. As soon as he landed he was confronted with Yamamoto's sword.

A sadistic grin etched itself onto his face as he slammed his blade against Yamamoto's.

"You're getting too close!"

Yamamoto was forced to quickly back away as Kuroda suddenly rained his acidic souls down upon the old man.

In came Kuroda, swinging his sword wildly as Yamamoto cleared the corrosive dead. The ex-shinigami laughed as he once again slammed his blade against the elder's.

For a brief moment they locked, struggling against each other for control.

"HAHAHA! Sic'em boys!"

What happened next was rather hard to explain. For lack of better words, two, snakes like creatures suddenly grew out of Kuroda's back.

Mouth filled with razor sharp teeth, scaly red skin, and demonic spines on their back, they were a terrifying sight.

They reared themselves up from Kuroda's back and struck at Yamamoto from the shoulder, so surprised was the old man that he didn't react in time when the first snake lunged forth and sunk it's jagged teeth into his shoulder.

He let out a small grunt of pain as its teeth burrowed deep into his muscle and began burning his flesh.

The second one attacked, Yamamoto quickly grabbed it by the neck and ripped it from Kuroda's back with brute force.

"Sure you wanna do that?" asked Kuroda devilishly,

Yamamoto suddenly felt the inside of his palm begin to burn, he quickly let go of the snake.

Amazingly it stayed alive and slithered back to its master and reattached itself to his back.

Yamamoto brutally yanked the other snake from his flesh and jumped away, out of reach from the beast's deadly bite.

"Out of reach? Is that what you think?" asked Kuroda, "haha! You senile old man, no place is safe from my legion."

Suddenly the snakes intentionally tore their tails from Kuroda's back and launched themselves at the Captain Commander. Another two grew from Kuroda's back and launched themselves, then another pair, and another, and another, until a dozen of the deadly serpents were flying through the air.

"Witness the power, of Ryuujin Jakka beasts of hell!"

Yamamoto swung his zanpaktou and roasted the snakes out of existence.

"Now that's not nice," Kuroda joked, "I guess the small ones aren't enough, guess I'll bring out the big guy."

Kuroda raised his free hand to the sky,

"Come on out, **Shinen no iki mono**"

The moment he finished the command, a bright red light burst from the ground around him. Then, it showed.

Some large mouth burst out of the ground, as it rose to the heavens, Yamamoto got a clearer image of the beast Kuroda had summoned. It was very much like the snakes that he had created on his back, but on a much larger scale. This…snake, had to be at least fifteen feet thick, and at least two hundred meters long.

The great serpent raised itself from the ground, baring it's jagged teeth at Yamamoto as it arced itself down and flung itself at him.

The Captain Commander, held his ground.

The serpent slammed into the ground head first, it's mouth wide as it engulfed the Captain Commander.

"You're really strong," mumbled Kuroda,

A second later the serpent burst in a blazing inferno.

The Captain Commander was for the most part unscathed, but it was clear that even he was beginning to loose energy in this fight.

"It's been a long time since I got to let loose," said Kuroda, popping his neck, "I honestly can't believe that other me had me locked away for so long. I feel like some piece of fruit who got stuck in the back of the cabinet or something."

"What are you babbling about?"

"Oh nothing I-" Kuroda suddenly stopped and rubbed his fore head,

"No," he whispered, "shut up, you had your fun, it's my turn."

Yamamoto raised an eyebrow,

"Sorry about that," said Kuroda, "the other me's were being bratty. But back to the matter at hand. It's clear that I'm not going to kill you by throwing my minions at you like this. So I'll just do it myself."

"As you wish," Yamamoto said gruffly as he raised Ryuujin Jakka,

"Just give me a moment to prepare," said Kuroda,

"**daiichi no dankai: shinpan"**

Yamamoto watched as Kuroda's power seemed to escalate even more, the souls that he had once show Yamamoto converged on him, engulfing him in a hypnotic swirl.

The world, seemed to get a little darker, when the spirits dissipated, Kuroda's appearance was further changed.

Now, he stood with two large wings on his back. With an experimental flap of his new appendages, Kuroda kicked up an incredibly strong gust of wind.

"An impressive display," commented Yamamoto, "but do they aid you in any way?"

"You'll just have to find out the hard way," replied Kuroda,

The man suddenly shot forward with incredible speed, Yamamoto's eyes widened ever so slightly as he raised his blade too late.

Kuroda was already past him.

And a fresh wound had been dealt across his broad chest.

"Oh dear," whispered Kuroda "I missed, I was aiming for your head."

"If you would like, I could give you a few moments to readjust yourself with your new speed," offered Yamamoto,

"No thanks, I've got it," Kuroda replied, licking his lips,

He shot forth again, this time Yamamoto blocked the hit, but Kuroda did not despair. No, it just made him excited.

Using his wings he launched himself far away; then sped forth, striking at Yamamoto as he went. Again Yamamoto blocked the attack, but was unable to stop the man from pass right by him.

Kuroda sped pass him again, striking out but never stopping. Again and again, Kuroda came at Yamamoto with this hit and run tactic.

Having tired of this game, Yamamoto summoned the flames of Ryuujin Jakka and swept his sword in a full circle as he saw his opponent run towards him.

Kuroda came to a quick stop at seeing the gigantic wall of flame racing towards him. He dropped to his knee and wrapped his wings around himself. He felt the heat of the flames as it washed over him, but none ever touched his body.

As soon as the flame passed Kuroda unwrapped himself, only to see the elder in front of him, zanpaktou readied for a killing strike.

He smiled,

AnShen came up and met the attack head on, Kuroda laughed wildly as he locked swords with his opponent.

Unexpectedly, he twisted himself and threw Yamamoto back with a blow of his right wing.

As the old man skidded back, Kuroda fired a volley of souls.

Yamamoto, predictably incinerated them with a single swing of Ryuujin Jakka's flames,

"Behind you!"

The Captain Commander swung around, bringing Ryuujin Jakka to bare just as Kuroda's calvary charge reached him and smashed into his defense.

Yamamoto burned through its ranks and launched a furious volley of fire.

Kuroda cut through the first two and used his wings to protect himself from the third.

"Gotta try harder that that!" taunted the crazy Kuroda,

"As you wish!" replied Yamamoto,

The old man raised his zanpaktou into the air, ungodly amounts of fire began to swirl around it, sucking in the sky in what looked like a scene from Armageddon.

"Pretty cool," said Kuroda, "I'll have to try pretty hard, to match it"

Kuroda's reiatsu flared as he raised AnShen and concentrated all of his own power into the blade. His legion once again became visible as they crowded around the man, feeding him their power. An evil smirk crawled onto his face as he accepted their gifts.

As if on cue, the two lunged towards each other, each blazing a trail through the ground as they charged.

Kuroda swung AnShen

Yamamoto swung Ryuujin Jakka

The blades met

And the battlefield was torn asunder

(#$(%^#%()^*)%(*#%)(#^*%_#%_#(%*^_#%*^_(%^*_#(%(_#)

"HOLY CRAP!" screamed Kaito as a powerful gust of wind tore through the air and nearly dragged him right of the side of the tower.

The only thing still anchoring him to the building was Keiji, who had thankfully managed to grab on to the building before the whirlwind hit them.

Yoruichi braced herself against the wall as the wind threatened to blow her off as well.

"Kuroda," she whispered, "please be alright,"

(^*($%^)#%^)&%)#*)%(^#)%^))#*%&^#*%&()#)(%^*)#

Kuroda couldn't stop smiling as he watched the earth come up to meet him.

AnShen was quick to stop him as he quickly stabbed the zanpaktou into the earth, managing to only fall to one knee.

He panted heavily, gasping for air, but still that smile wouldn't leave his face.

"Damn, I almost forgot how strong you were," whispered Kuroda,

Yamamoto's blade had struck true, a vicious gash now cross Kuroda's body from his upper right collar bone down to his left ribcage.

Across the battlefield, Yamamoto still stood. But he had no walked away unscathed either. A fresh wound crossed down from his right shoulder down to his abdominals.

Though wound for wound, Kuroda was worse off.

"Who are you?"

"Huh?"

"Who are you?" repeated Yamamoto,

"You're fighting style, your attitude, and your aura, all of it is nothing like the Kuroda I knew a century ago. Who are you?"

"Heh, who am I?" asked Kuroda, "that's an obvious answer, I am Kuroda. The same Kuroda you knew many years ago, the same one that was the Commander of Seireitei's black ops."

"Yet you are nothing like him,"

"People change Yamamoto," replied Kuroda, "perhaps I have changed, or perhaps, you never truly knew me to begin with."

Yamamoto was silent,

"It doesn't really matter," Kuroda said dryly, "because soon-"

"Your attention please! To the Gotei 13, all Captains, Lieutenants, and acting Lieutenants, and the ryoka"

(#)*%&^)#*%^#%^))#*%&^#(()_#%)_)#*()#%&*)'

A voice suddenly broke through the sky, both Keiji and Kaito recognized it as the lieutenant of the 4th squads voice, Isane.

"This is 4th squad Lieutenant, Kotetsu Isane. This is an urgent message from the 4th squad Captain, Unohana Retsu and myself. What I am about to tell you, is all true. "

(*(% (&$%(*%!#%*()&#(_%#T)#&^)&#%)#)%^*#%^())#%)

All over Seireitei, cries of anguish, shock, and horror rang out. The truth was known, Aizen, Gin, Tosen, all of them were traitors.

But one individuals response stuck out.

For so many years, his emotions had been bottled up, kept together behind a mask of apathy, a mask of cold, and now, a mask of insanity and blood lust.

But now, after hearing the name he hated so very much and now knowing where that name could be found, everything simply fell apart. The bottle, burst.

Kuroda screamed,

"**AIZEN!"**

**End**

**A/N**

**Well that was fun to write, and very tiresome. I don't know if you know this, but making a chapter that is entirely comprised of a single fight, is incredibly hard.**

**I hope you enjoyed the fight between Kuroda and Yamamoto, and I hope you enjoyed that surprise with Kuroda's second band being removed.**

**I hope I did a good job too.**

**Now, here are some translations**

**Zenkai no mokushi- Harbinger of the apocalypse**

**Shino Kabe Dikei- Death wall decay**

**Shibou Ryuu Dikei- Death Dragon decay**

**Shinen no iki mono-Creature of the abyss**

**daiichi no dankai:shinpan-First stage:Judgment**

**This is probably a lot to remember, but don't worry.**

**Kuroda's bankai actually went through a lot of stages. At first I thought of making it so that he could temporarily change himself into reiatsu, but I scraped the idea. Then I thought of making it so that he could turn invisible for a short period of time, but I didn't like that one either. Then I thought of making it so that he could transport himself through shadow, but it felt too much of a rip off from Ichigo and Shunsui.**

**Finally I came to this one, which was the best one I could think of so far.**

**The idea that a zanpaktou has multiple wielders over time is an idea that came from BlackWolfGrimm on deviant art, go check out her account, she's also known on as SailorIo24.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Please leave a review, subscribe, and favorite.**

**Omake Time!**

"**Good evening," says Kuroda in front of the video, "today we will be discussing my bankai Zenkai no mokushi"**

**The video turns on to show his bankai**

"**Zenkai no Mokushi enhances all of my abilities, strength, speed, stamina, etc. It also gives me the power to command a legion of souls that were slain by AnShen over thousands of years. I can use them as corrosive projectiles or extra limbs to strike at my enemy."**

"**In addition it allows me to 'upgrade' my regular attacks by adding another word to the command."**

"**But most importantly, the souls can be used as living attack beasts, such as demonstrated with Shinen no iki mono"**

"**Wow," says Ichigo, coming onto screen, "your bankai is pretty awesome."**

"**It is also useful for everyday use,"**

"**Oh? How so?"**

"**The souls can be used to bring me things," explains Kuroda,**

**Out of nowhere, a soul, clearly from Kuroda's legion comes on screen and hands Kuroda a bottle of water.**

"**Thank you"**

**"EH!" screams Ichigo**

**End.**


	20. Chapter 20

**You may be a bit surprised, coming up with this chapter was a little harder than previous ones. Why you ask? (You better have asked it!) Well because if you'll recall in the original Bleach, there was a bit of a time skip between Aizen's escape and our group of heros departure from Soul Society. So I had to put some extra imagination into this one, but hey, CHAPTER 20! Enjoy!**

Chapter 20

Frustration and Reconciliation

"Um, guys"

"What is it Keiji?" asked Kaito as he pushed himself back up,

"I don't see any more fighting over where the Commander is," replied the 6th seat,

"Hm? That just probably means that Kuroda's won," decided Kaito, "right Yoruichi?"

The purple haired woman didn't respond.

"Yoruichi?"

Still no response, Kaito raised an eyebrow but decided to leave her alone for now.

"Well," he started, "I supposed we should go over and congratulate the boss-"

A massive, yet familiar weight suddenly crashed down on them, cutting off the rest of Kaito's words. Keiji immediately fell to his knees, struggling with the presence and trying to prevent himself from falling down entirely.

Kaito, who was the superior of the two Black operatives, found himself heavily burdened as well. His knees visibly were buckling under the enormous weight and he was forced to brace himself against the wall of the tower for support.

Of the three of them, Yoruichi seemed to fair the best. Though she too was visibly burdened by the presence, she held herself up well enough.

Below them at the tower's feet, regular Shinigami were simply slammed into the paved roads of Seireitei, unable to cope. Some even out right feinted. Others, though, did not feel a thing. But perhaps that most frightening condition of all, it meant that the presence was on a plane far higher then their own. To the point where they couldn't even comprehend.

Yet, even as the three shinigami at the top of the tower struggled, they all found themselves realizing one thing.

"Kuroda," whispered Yoruichi,

A small, black dot appeared suddenly shot up from the battlefield. Yoruichi squinted her feline like eyes to try and make it out.

Gradually, but surely, the dot became bigger, and bigger. Finally, it was large enough that Yoruichi could make out the shape.

But as it finally came into focus, the shape shot by them with incredible speed, bringing along a gust of wind as it went.

"What was that?" Keiji called out,

"That was the Commander in his bankai!" Kaito replied, "he's headed for the Soukyoku hill!"

"We should get up there too," said Keiji, "he might need our-"

Yoruichi didn't hear the rest, as she'd already jumped off the tower and was already running as fast as her body would allow her to go towards the Soukyoku in pursuit of her friend.

'What was that?' she asked herself as she dashed across the roof tops, 'what I saw was Kuroda.'

She had seen him alright. As he'd sped past them with his bloody wings, she'd seen, if only for a moment, his face. She'd never mistake his for another's, or another's for his. There was something about him, that made him all too distinguishable.

But when she saw him as he'd flown passed her, he was not the same as she'd always known him to be like. Something just seemed very different about the Kuroda that'd flown passed her.

Then there was his reiatsu, she didn't like the feel of it. While most could say that Kuroda's reiatsu was dark and full of malice, Yoruichi never felt any of those things in his presence. But now, she couldn't help but feel a cold shiver run up her spine.

Could this be a result of his release of his second seal? What had he been hiding from her all this time?

($#%*&#%(*^&%#((#))^#%*#%&*^()#%*()#%*&#*%^)

"**AIZEN!"**

Komamura roared in rage as he raised his fist and brought it down. The giant that was Kokujo Tengen Myo, shadowed his movements perfectly and lunged forth with its own fist. The giant's attack crashed into the ground where Aizen stood.

Aizen broke out from the dust, completely unharmed.

Komamura let loose a feral growl, befitting of his bestial appearance.

"Tosen!" he roared, "if you have some kind of excuse for such treachery, I command you tell me now!"

The blind shinigami did not respond,

"Nothing? Have you nothing to say for yourself?"

Komamura's reiatsu flooded out of him as he commanded his giant to raise it's sword. Just as he readied his giant's blade for a devastating attack, Aizen appeared right before him hand raised.

'Impossible! He's still next to Tosen!'

Komamura looked up just in time to see the image of Aizen fade away.

"Hado No.90: Kurohitsugi"

A black coffin of kido captured Komamura, it swelled with power as it unleashed it's invisible power upon the Captain, then deflated. Aizen turned away, the black coffin shattered, leaving a bloodied Komamura to fall to the ground.

Ichigo, who'd been defeated long ago, stared with wide eyes as he watched the brief battle.

'Even another Captain,' he realized, 'couldn't lay a single finger on him. How?'

"My zanpaktou Kyouka Suigetsu, has the power of complete hypnosis," explained Aizen, as though listening in to Ichigo's thoughts, "even if you realize you are under it's power, there is no method of escape."

Ichigo's eyes widened.

"A level ninety hado, incantation skipped," said Ichimaru, still holding Rukia, "Scary! When d'ya learn to do that?"

"It's actually not that amazing," admitted Aizen, "I didn't even produce a third of its regular destructive power. The level ninety spells are quite hard to control."

Rukia, helplessly still in Gin's grasp, looked on with terror as the seemingly benevolent man walked towards her with an evil glint in his eyes.

"Well then," started Aizen as he grabbed Rukia by her collar, "I was explaining to you kids something wasn't I?"

Ichigo growled in frustration, his body still refusing to let him up.

"Ichigo!"

Both traitors and ryoka turned to see Uryu, Chad, Ganju, Orihime and Maki running up the hill to aid their friends.

Chad, seeing Ichigo on the ground, was the first to react. Stretching out his arm, he called to his power.

Ichigo, realizing his friends intent, quickly called out, "No! Stay back!"

The group halted, though it was clear it was a reluctant move.

"Stay away!" warned Ichigo,

"You'd better listen to yar friend," said Gin as he stepped in front of Aizen, "wouldn't want one of ya to suddenly die"

With a small burst of his reiatsu, Gin sent the group stumbling back as though they'd been hit by a great wind. The sly man grinned just a little larger and let loose a bit more of his reiatsu.

This time the group crumbled under its pressure, Orihime was the first to fall, then Uryu, Chad, and Ganju fell as well.

Aizen, now assured that the minor inconvenience had been dealt with, turned back to his current objective.

"Rukia Kuchiki," he started, her eyes stared up in fear "when you were spotted in the world of the living, the very first thing I did, was destroy Central 46. You probably heard from Lieutenant Kotetsu that 'Captain Aizen Sousuke faked his death and concealed his whereabouts. He has murdered those of Central 46.' But I'm afraid that's not true. When you were spotted, I immediately killed everyone in Central 46 and used Kyouka Suigetsu's power to make it look as though the officials were still alive and continuing their daily meetings. One of us, always stayed in the court, and acted as the officials, manipulating all the orders."

Rukia's eyes widened as a though suddenly shot through her head, if he'd been in control of Central 46, did that mean-

"Yes, I even switched the apprehension team to Captain Kuchiki and Lieutenant Abarai from the 6th division. Then, in order to retrieve the Hogyouku buried in your soul, I decided to use the Soukyoku to execute you. But then something happened, your friends arrived in Soul Society. I realized that the execution might fail due to the efforts of your ryoka friends, so I faked my own death and went into hiding in Central 46's court."

"Though to be honest, I feel I should thank your friends for coming," said Aizen as he reached into his shirt, "if it had not been for them, I would have had to wait much longer to get what I wanted."

"Did you know, that there are only two ways of removing a foreign object from inside a soul? One, is by evaporating the soul acting as the outside shell, with an extremely high temperature, like that of the Soukyoku. The second; is by somehow going directly into the soul's structure and forcibly detaching it," explained Aizen, "I always suspected that someone would ensure that the Soukyoku execution would fail, though I admittedly did not expect it to come from such a source as it did. So I went over every single last piece of Urahara's research, he did after all, invent the technology for embedding foreign objects in to souls."

Pulling out a small purple rod from his shirt, Aizen smiled,

"I apologize if this causes you pain," he said as he pushed a small button, letting out a small burst of mist from the object, "this is the first time I've tried something like this."

Out of the ground, six sharp green spikes shot out, forming a circle around the traitor Captain and his prisoner. Chaotic bursts of purple energy burst around the tips of the spikes like lightning through rods of steel.

Aizen's own right hand was suddenly covered in green scales, with a merciless smile he pulled back his transformed hand and sunk it into Rukia's chest.

"NO!" cried Ichigo,

Calmly, Aizen pulled back his hand and let Rukia's body fall to the ground. The traitorous captain opened his hand to reveal the prize he'd so sought after, a small violet gem, the size of a man's eye, the Hogyoku.

Rukia let out a strangled gasp for air as she lay on the cold ground, her eyes wide with some indescribable pain.

"I'm surprised," admitted Aizen as he held his prize, "it's something this small? This is the Hougyoku?"

Aizen's attention was caught by a flicker of movement; he turned his eyes just in time to see the large gaping hole in Rukia's chest close itself up as though it had never been there.

"So the soul itself is unharmed by the process," deduced Aizen, "what a wonderful design. But unfortunately, I no longer have any use for you."

Aizen placed the Hougyoku into his shirt and lifted Rukia by the collar of her robes, then stretched his arm out, holding her away from him.

"Gin, if you would."

"Sure thing," called Gin, taking out his zanpaktou, "**Shoot to Kill, Shinsou**"

In the blink of an eye, Gin's zanpaktou extended itself and shot out like a metallic snake. The Captain's aim was true, and the tip of the blade went straight for Rukia's throat.

Blood splattered on the ground as Shinsou cut through flesh.

Gin however, was less then pleased.

It was no longer Aizen who held Rukia, but the Captain of the 6th division, Byakuya Kuchiki.

Shinsou had hit the Captain square in the chest, but in his right arm Rukia remained unscathed.

With a sickening squelch, Shinsou retracted from Byakuya's chest.

"Brother!"

The Captain of the 6th, tired and wounded inches from his life, fell to his knees. The noble man gasped for breath as his life continued to spill into the ground, arm still wrapped around Rukia protectively.

"Why?" cried Rukia, "why did you save me?"

Aizen turned, smiling as though amused. His hand gripped his zanpaktou as he began calmly walking to finish the job.

As he began to reach striking distance, Aizen slid his zanpaktou ,Kyouka Suigetsu, out of its sheath, ready to deliver the final blow himself. Just as he started to raise his blade, a massive reiatsu suddenly crashed down upon him and everyone on the hill.

The group of ryoka, all but fell to the ground after being put under such a large amount of power.

Out of nowhere, something slammed into Aizen like a missile, tossing up gouts of dust and rock. Rukia and her brother were sent rolling away, Byakuya quickly grabbed his sister and held her close to his body, protecting her from the worst of it at his own expense.

When the dust cleared, it revealed a very angry Kuroda, his blade locked with a struggling Aizen.

"Aizen!" growled Kuroda as he pressed harder,

The former 5th squad Captain's response was simply to smile, "Oh, this is a familiar face. Kuroda, how long has it been?"

The man's nonchalant attitude pushed Kuroda over the edge, his wings seemed to bristle with anger as he broke away.

"Bastard," spat the exiled shinigami, "you're going to burn for what you did all those years ago!"

"Oh? But isn't what I gave you, what you wanted?"

Kuroda gritted his teeth.

"I gave you what you wanted above all else, didn't I? I gave you power."

Without another word Kuroda flapped his wings and shot forward, ramming AnShen's blade against Aizen's defenses. The strike sent the traitor skidding back, but Kuroda did not let up for a single second. He charged forth let loose his fury, smashing his blade repeatedly against his enemy.

He was not thinking about tactics, he was not thinking about the others on the hill, all he was thinking about was destroying the man in front of him.

Kuroda lashed out, Aizen parried his attack. Kuroda raised AnShen, anger coursing through his veins,

"**Shibou Ryuu!"**

The hungry beast unleashed itself from Kuroda's blade and ravenously went after Aizen. The living missile seemed to catch it's pray, but Aizen would not be taken down so easily.

"Hado No. 33 Sokatsui!"

Blue fire smashed into the living missile and detonated. As the smoke swirled around the hill top, Aizen stood unscathed and unworried.

With a blood thirsty cry, a bloodthirsty red serpent broke through the smoke and lashed out at Aizen. The traitor Captain, never one to be caught off guard, effortlessly sliced through his attacker.

Just as he finished with the first, another burst through the screen, then another and another. A whole swarm burst from the smoke, the ground and the air, threatening to overwhelm him.

"Shoot to Kill: Shinsou"

A blade shot out in front of Aizen and vanquished a dozen of the serpents in a single shot.

Kaname Tosen, ever his faithful servent, leapt to his defense and destroyed the remaining serpents. One slipped by the blind man's defenses and sunk its teeth into his shoulder.

Tosen growled in pain as the serpent's acidic bite burned into his flesh. He quickly grabbed the beast by the tail and yanked it out, only for it to melt in his hand and cover his entire arm in a thick acidic liquid.

Kuroda roared as he launched himself at his enemies. Tosen was of course the first to raise himself in Aizen's defense.

To the man's credit, he managed to take three swipes before Kuroda batted him away entirely.

A flicker of motion in the corner of his eye and Kuroda swung around just in time to block Shinsou from skewering him.

"Wow, that's pretty scary," joked Gin, the man's smirk was instantly wiped away as Kuroda sent a stream of serpents slithering down his elongated blade.

Gin quickly retracted his blade, but the serpents came on nonetheless.

Tosen, already recovered from being thrown half way across the hill, leapt into the air and called to his zanpaktou.

"**Suzumushi Nishiki: Benihiko!"**

Tosen's blade began to vibrate, the blind man swung his zanpaktou in a quick semi-circle, leaving a trail of swords along the way. The trail materialized into hundreds of individual blades, with a quick mental command, Tosen sent the deadly metal rain pouring down upon Kuroda.

Tosen landed back on the ground.

"Did I get him?"

There was the powerful sound of a wings flapping. The dust was blow away, revealing Kuroda to be completely unharmed.

"Impossible!"

"These wings aren't just for show you know,"

Kuroda flapped his wings again and shot into the air.

"Uh oh," muttered Gin as he finished off the last of the serpents.

For a brief moment, Kuroda was but a dot in the air. That dot however began to swoop down with deadly precision. Gin raised Shinsou and called out its name in an attempt to shoot down the falling man before he reached the ground.

Kuroda gracefully barrel rolled out of the way each time Gin shot his zanpaktou out at him.

With the speed of falcon, Kuroda smashed down on Gin. Not even the sly man could smile as pure power descended down upon him, it was only by sheer luck and skill that he'd managed to catch the attack with his own zanpaktou.

But Gin's small victory was short lived, suddenly, that acid that Kuroda created his serpents with splattered across the man's chest, burning through his shirt and into his skin.

Distracted by the sudden pain, Kuroda's attack sent Gin tumbling across the ground.

Kuroda spread his wings and once again took to the air.

"Lord Aizen," said Tosen, "please let me handle this."

Calling to his zanpaktou once again, Tosen sent another wave of deadly swords up at the descending shinigami.

Kuroda countered with his own **Shino Kabe**

The wave of super dense reiatsu simply burned its way through Tosen's blades and slammed itself into a very bewildered blind man.

Aizen, seeing his subordinates fall, readied himself.

Kuroda lashed out with AnShen from the air then pulled himself up and struck again and again. Repeatedly he attacked Aizen with this hit and run tactic.

Finally, his patience ran out, he wanted Aizen dead now!

Swooping straight down to the earth and pulling up at the last possible second, he sent himself racing straight for Aizen at a dangerously fast speed.

"**SHIBOU RYUU DIKEI!"**

"**Bakudo No.81: Danku**"

A tall, translucent rectangular barrier erected itself in front of Aizen. Kuroda's hellish missile collided with it, as it smashed itself into it, the barrier began to crack.

"Hado No.73: Soren Sokatsui!"

Aizen fired a powerful a double shot of blue fire just as the beast broke through his barrier. The fire crashed into the beast, causing it to detonate prematurely, covering the entire hillside in more smoke.

Kuroda burst through the smoke with AnShen raised high over his head. His heart began to pound violently as he closed in on his target, closer and closer. Aizen wouldn't be able to raise his defense in time.

The dark haired man was right on top of the object of his hatred, his sword, ready to cleave the man in half.

But then the strangest thing happened. Kuroda held himself back, instead of cleaving the man in front of him in half, he suddenly swung around and lashed out with AnShen in a wide arc.

"Gotch ya," whispered Kuroda,

Aizen stumbled back, blood oozing from his chest.

The "Aizen" that Kuroda was initially going to kill, suddenly shattered away into the wind.

"Ho? This is interesting," quipped Aizen as he held his wound, "you can see through my hypnosis?"

"Surprised?" asked Kuroda,

"I admit, I am," replied Aizen, "and here I thought my Kyouka Suigetsu's hypnosis was absolute. It's power controls all of the five senses, so there should be no way for you to get around it. How then, are you able to see through my illusions?"

"I suppose you could say, I have a sixth sense," answered Kuroda,

"A sixth sense? How interesting," said Aizen, "and what would this sixth sense be?"

"My zanpaktou, AnShen, gives me power over those I've killed," said Kuroda, "but it also gives me a unique sense on those souls that are dead. You may have forgotten Aizen, but technically, we are all dead."

"But of course, and your saying that your zanpaktou gives you a unique sense with regards to the dead?"

"Indeed," said Kuroda as he pointed his finger at Aizen, "to most, they would simply see you for what you are. But when I see you, I can see every particle of your being, not just the spirit particles, but your very soul. I see what makes you, you, I see what makes your soul unique compared to all the others. That is something your hypnosis will never be able to replicate."

"I see," said Aizen, "you truly are, a Death god."

"Keep that knowledge with you, when AnShen strips the flesh from your bones and adds your soul to his collection."

"My, such a promise, I hope you can-"

"**Hado: 63 Raikoho!"**

Yellow lightning crashed down on Aizen, throwing up dirt, rock and dust into the air. All of it was quickly cleared as the 32 foot tall gatekeeper Jidanbo landed on the Soukyoku Hill with Kuukaku Shiba riding on his shoulder.

"More of them?"

Aizen reappeared a couple of meters away from the spell's impact point.

"How troublesome,"

As he lifted his sword to dispatch the two new arrivals, a pair of hands suddenly grabbed his own and a blade touched his throat.

"My my, I'm just running into old faces all the time today," joked Aizen,

"Don't move," commanded Yoruichi, "if you so much as twitch a single muscle…"

"We'll slice off your head," finished Soi Fon,

"Yes, I see that," Aizen replied calmly,

Jidanbo the gatekeeper walked towards the captive Aizen,

"Kuukaku!" called Yoruichi,

"Yo! I hope you don't mind!" she yelled back, "I was bored, and had too much free time. So I decided to come check things out while I was taking a walk."

"Wow, things are really heating up around here," Gin said to himself,

"Now let's see, what should I do?" he asked himself as he batted away a piece of stray rubble with his hand.

Suddenly someone grabbed him by his outstretched wrist and snaked a blade to his throat, while another held the point of a sword to his chin.

"Don't move," he heard a velvety yet strong female voice command him,

"I don't have any qualms about breaking your nose," said Kaito,

"Rangiku? Is that you back there?" he asked, the silence was a good enough answer.

"Sorry Lord Aizen," called Gin, "I went 'n got caught."

"It's over Aizen," said Yoruichi,

"Really?" asked Aizen,

"Don't try anything," growled Yoruichi in a steely voice, "you three have nowhere to run."

The sound of dozens of Shunpo practitioners filled the air, a second later and the entire Gotei 13 had assembled itself on the Soukyoku hill.

"Aizen," whispered Captain Ukitake in anger and disbelief

"How could you Aizen?" asked Shunsui,

The said traitor took a brief moment to take in the situation. They were surrounded on all sides by high level shinigami in the middle of Seireitei, his subordinates had been captured, and his past was coming back every second to try and bring him down.

A thin smile grew on his lips and small chuckle erupted from his mouth.

"What's so funny?" demanded Yoruichi,

"Heh, I'm sorry," said Aizen "but it seems that it is time."

Yoruichi's eyes widened as she felt a sudden pulse of energy,

"Get away Soi Fon!"

The two women jumped away just in time as a brilliant beam crashed down on Aizen, enveloping him in a pillar of pure light.

All eyes turned to the up as a pair of think skeletal fingers tore a hole through the sky. The white boney hands ripped the hole even wider, revealing the distinct white mask and pointy nose of a Gillian. But as the tear in the sky grew even wider, dozens upon dozens of Gillian were revealed to be hidden in whatever blackish hell they were coming from.

"Menos Grande!" cried Soi Fon

"How many of them are there?" yelled her Lieutenant,

"Wait! There's still something behind them!"

Some large yellow eye that dwarfed any of the Gillian hid in the darkness behind them. A low rumbling growl that shook the very foundation of the hill they stood upon burst from the tear.

Two more beams of light crashed down on the Soukyoku hill, capturing both Tosen and Gin.

"I'm a lil' disappointed," admitted Gin as Rangiku was forced to let go, "You coulda kept holdin on a lil longer."

Gin looked back at her with a saddened face, "Sayonara Rangiku"

With that said, the three traitor Captains began their escape.

The pillars of light reached down with invisible hands and tore away the pieces of earth that the three Captains stood upon, lifting them up into the air, away from the hands of those that watched.

The members of the Gotei 13 watched helplessly as their former three rose higher and higher into the air.

"Tosen!" roared a mortally wounded Komamura, "Tosen! Why did you become a shinigami? Was it not for your friend? Was it not for justice? Where is the justice in this Tosen? Because I don't see it!"

"I told you, Komamura," replied the Captain of the 9th, "My path, is the path of the least bloodshed. There justice can always be found."

"You've allied yourself with the Menos?" accused Captain Ukitake, "Why?"

"To reach farther, to become more powerful"

"You ally yourself with them to gain power? How far have you fallen Aizen?" growled Ukitake,

"You're arrogant as always, Captain Ukitake," spoke Aizen, "No being stood in heaven at their start. Not you, not me, not even god."

The Captain of the 5th, reached up and took off his glasses, then ran his hand through his hair, slicking it back. Now his true face revealed, no longer was he the gentle and kind man that they had all known him as. Now he was a man who reeked of arrogance and vanity.

"I must keep reaching up further," he continued, "I cannot reach any further as a shinigami. I must rise above all of you, and I will. I will transcend the barrier between Shinigami and Hollow. I will become a being greater then all. I will stand in Heaven."

"Farewell, Shinigami. And Farewell, Ryoka boy, even I must admit you were truly interesting."

"NOT THIS TIME!"

All eyes turned just in time to see Kuroda shoot up into the air in pursuit of Aizen, a savage roar of pure hatred and anger burst from his throat as he charged his way up at his target.

"Not this time Aizen! You will not escape!"

The Captain of the 5th, could only smile as Kuroda ascended to his level with incredible speed.

"Don't bother," advised Aizen, "you'll never be able to touch me in here."

The man's words fell on deaf ears however, as Kuroda began to mercilessly wail upon the solid pillar of light with every ounce of strength he could possibly muster.

"Hmph, ever stubborn," Aizen mumbled in amusement,

Kuroda brought his attack to a halt when a bright red light suddenly illuminated him from above.

He turned to see a dozen or so Gillian charging up their cero to protect their master. Kuroda scowled, he didn't have time for this.

Like a group of well-trained soldiers, the Gillian fired their ceros simultaneously at the lone figure attacking their master.

"Out of the way!" growled Kuroda, "**Shino Kabe!**"

Kuroda swung AnShen and let loose a powerful wave of raw reiatsu at the incoming fire. His attack tore through their rounds as if they were but air and smashed into the sea of Gillian, taking down a large amount of their number.

But that was a small price to pay, Aizen was already in the sky tare by now, safely in the hands of his Gillian.

"NO!"

With a powerful flap of his wings, Kuroda shot after Aizen. If he couldn't take Aizen down here, he'd follow him to whatever hole he was going to crawl into and tear his throat out there!

Aizen let out a soft chuckle, truly entertaining.

"Tyran," spoke Aizen, "if you would be so kind."

A dark purple cero suddenly blasted out from the darkness.

Kuroda's eyes widened at seeing it, but did not think on it much as it soon smashed into his blade.

Much to his surprise, the cero stopped him cold. He gritted his teeth as me pressed against it, this single one was easily ten times the power of all those Gillian's cero combined.

Pouring his strength in to his blade, Kuroda tossed the attack away and into the sky.

The tear was beginning to close, his chance was slipping away.

With the last ounce of his strength, Kuroda flew towards Aizen with every last big of his reiatsu seeping into AnShen.

The traitor was no longer shielded, Kuroda came within range, he swung AnShen with all his might-

CLANG!

A hand holding a katana shout out from the blackness and blocked Kuroda's blade just inches from Aizen's neck.

"My, you are quite strong," said an unseen voice, "it's too bad that Lord Aizen doesn't want to stay any longer, I would've liked to test myself against you."

Before Kuroda could respond, another dark purple cero burst from the hole and slammed right into him. The power of the attack sent him spiraling down back to earth, covering his already wounded body in a dozen new burns.

"Kuroda!" called out Yoruichi as she saw him fall,

She quickly rushed over to him, her heart skipped a beat as he finally crashed into the ground. She doubled her pace, hoping to whomever would listen that her friend would be okay.

Someone seemed to be listening, as when she reached him, he was simply kneeling down, his eyes glued to the sky as the tear finally sealed itself.

"Kuroda, are you-"

"RAH!" he screamed,

Out of some anger fueled frenzy, Kuroda lost all sense of himself and began viciously pounding away at the ground with his fists while shouting at the top of his lungs "NO! NO! NOT AGAIN!"

"Kuroda! Stop!" called Yoruichi

But Kuroda was lost in himself now. In his mind, he'd failed yet again at the most important task of his life. Now that his seals had been weakened, raw emotion came flooding back into his mind, emotion that he was utterly unable to control.

Pieces of rock from the Soukyoku Hill went flying as he madly smash his fists down. To add to his problem, his frenzied break down had caused him to forget to keep his reiatsu in check. Red energy practically oozed out of him, bringing all lieutenants to their knees.

"Kuroda! Get a hold of yourself!" called Ichigo as he struggled under his friends reiatsu, "you're gonna kill everyone!"

"NO! NO!" Kuroda continued to scream,

Yoruichi, ever the speedster, braved the reiatsu storm produced by her friend and attempted to rush to his side and calm him down.

As she did a vine of stray reiatsu caught her by the right shoulder and knocked her to the ground.

"Agh!" she cried out in pain as she pressed on, "the things I do for my friends."

"Kuroda!" she called when she finally managed to get to his side, "pull yourself together!"

But he didn't listen, he just continued to beat the ground without any intent to stop.

"Ugh, men"

Finally she grabbed her friend by the shoulders and turned him around to face her. He struggled against her but his instability had left him without any real thought as to what to do to escape her grip.

"Kuroda! Stop it!" she yelled, her hand slid down from his shoulder and wrapped around his own, "just calm down! Just calm down okay?"

She was unsure as to whether he'd actually heard her or not until, the wind became noticeably less strong. Gradually it waned and finally stopped all together.

All was then quite. The only sound was Kuroda's heavy pants as he tried to recuperate.

"Kuroda? Are you okay?" asked Yoruichi,

His breath was heavy as his lungs tried to feed him air. Beads of sweat rolled down his face and neck and his eyes were incredibly wide, almost as if he'd seen something he'd never be able to forget.

Gradually, he turned to look at her.

Yoruichi gave him a warm smile,

"Finally calmed down?" she asked in a light hearted tone,

Kuroda swallowed hard. Suddenly he dipped his hand down into his pockets and feverishly searched until he pulled something.

Yoruichi looked as he unraveled his fingers and saw that it was one of the seals he kept wrapped around his arm.

Slowly, almost reluctantly, he placed it back on his right arm and sealed it tight. The moment in clapped around him, a jolt went up his back and a grimmince of pain flashed across his face.

His breaths picked up for a brief moment, then died down to a steady pace.

Kuroda mentally called to AnShen and had the spirit of his sword to call of his bankai. His wings disappeared and his red trench coat returned to his black hooded cloak.

He struggled to try and stand up, nearly falling back to the ground only for Yoruichi to come to his rescue and catch him.

"Don't push yourself too hard," she told him, "you're pretty badly wounded."

Too tired to come up with an answer, Kuroda just nodded and wrapped his arm around her for support.

As she shifted him, Yoruichi noticed that only two of the seals were on Kuroda.

'So he took of the second one after all'

"What about the third one?" she asked,

Kuroda shook his head, "not yet"

"Why?"

"Just in case," he whispered as his eyes turned to the gathered Gotei 13.

Yoruichi smirked, ever cautious.

Though she found that sometimes his cautiousness paid off.

"Kuroda! Yoruichi!" they heard,

Orihime, Uryu, Ganju, and Chad carrying Ichigo rushed over to meet them.

"Are you alright?" asked the orange haired girl,

"We're fine," replied Yoruichi, "right Kuroda?"

No response,

"Don't let his silence fool you, he's glad you're all alright," assured Yoruichi,

Their reunion was cut short when the gathered lieutenants that had come to stop Aizen, suddenly surrounded them, swords drawn.

"Easy now," said the one known as Shuhei,

Whatever he was going to say was instantly cut off when Kuroda gave the Lieutenants the coldest devil's eyes he'd ever given. All the lieutenants were visibly affected, some even shuffled back a few steps.

"Just try it," his eyes seemed to say.

"Enough!" called the booming voice of the Captain Commander, "leave the ryoka alone for now!"

The lieutenants gladly backed off, especially when Rajin, Kaito, and Keiji all leapt to their Commander's defense.

"Let us look to our injured for now," ordered Yamamoto, "Those Captains that are not injured, come. We have much to discuss."

"Does that mean us too old man Yama?" joked Shunsui,

The Captain Commander's response was simply and indignant, "humph"

Kuroda visibly relaxed as the shinigami backed off.

"Are you alright commander?" asked Rajin,

"yeah," he managed to mutter, "just a bit tired is all"

Kuroda's eyes drifted to Yoruichi, seeing if there were any wounds on her that would need attention. He almost instantly caught the burn on her right shoulder.

"Hm? What is it?" Yoruichi asked when she noticed him looking at her with solemn eyes, she traced his eyes to her wounded shoulder. With a smile she said, "oh, that's nothing, don't worry. You're much worse off, look at you you've got-"

"Did I do that?" he interrupted,

"Uh, well," she stuttered, "don't worry about it, you weren't yourself and…"

His eyes fell to the ground, unable to look at her.

"Hey," she said giving him a kick in the back, "don't be so hard on yourself."

No response,

Yoruichi sighed as she set him down on the ground.

"Oi, Orihime, heal Kuroda would you," called the purple haired woman,

"Oh, of course," said Orihime as she skipped over, "just hold still Kuroda, this will only take-"

"No," he interrupted, "got take care of Ichigo first."

"But…"

"What are you saying?" demanded Yoruichi, "look at you, your practically falling apart! You need attention right now!"

"It'll be faster to heal Ichigo, then myself," he replied, "don't worry, I can hold out some more. Just hurry and heal Ichigo."

Orihime looked to Yoruichi, the feline woman simply nodded for her to proceed. Orihime nodded back and went to tend to Ichigo.

"Your care for your friends will be the death of you one day," she told him,

"I'm just taking the logical path," he replied,

"Of course you are," she said, "looks like the sun is going down now."

Kuroda grunted in agreement as his eyes drifted back to Yoruichi's shoulder.

She noticed this and quickly said, "come on, stop dwelling on that. It was an accident."

Kuroda turned away,

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that," he mumbled,

Yoruichi remained silent, unsure what to say on the topic of Kuroda's temporary breakdown.

"But now you know, why I wear these seals."

**End**

**A/N**

**Well, I hope you enjoyed that chapter. It's a bit shorter that what I've given you guys in the past few chapters, but I'm pleased with the way that I ended it.**

**I advise you take note of Tyran, the one who shot the purple cero. He will be key to the story later on.**

**I'd like to apologize for my lack of updates recently. I've been busy with life and when I have had free time I've been mostly playing Saints Row the 3****rd**** and MW3. But I'm on break right now and I plan to get at least one more chapter out before the end of the month, but don't hold your breath.**

**OC submissions are still on, send me your creativity!**

**Review, subscribe, favorite, advertise!**

**Omake time!**

**Dreamerboy84 looks at his computer, surfing across for a decent fanfic to read. He scrolls down the impossibly long list of Bleach fanfics, his well-trained eyes carefully judging each of them.**

"**Hmm, too short, too short, too short, too short, too short, too short, too short, too short, too short, too short, WTF!"**

"**Why are there all these unfinished one chapter stories here? How am I supposed to find something decent to read!"**

**Kuroda steps in, "Why don't you work on your story instead?"**

"**Uh, no, I think I'll go watch something on YouTube"**

**Dreamerboy84 goes on to YouTube, his well-trained eye carefully scanning through the videos.**

"**Seen it already, seen it already, seen it already, seen it already, racist, rick roll, rick roll, seen it, rick roll, racist, montage, stupid MV, stupid MV, crappy quality"**

"**WTF! Why can't I find anything good to read?"**

"**How about you work on your story" says Kuroda,**

"**Nah, I think I'll go watch TV"**

**Dreamerboy84 goes to his TV, but then remembers, he doesn't even watch TV anymore.**

"**Ugh," says Kuroda, "you talk to him"**

"**I'll give it a shot," says Yoruichi,**

"**DB84!"**

"**Hm?"**

"**How's about working on your story, huh?"**

"**Sure," he says and goes to his computer to start.**

"**WTF" says Kuroda, "you get it in one try?"**

"**Boys can never say no to a lady"**


	21. Chapter 21

**So on to the rest of the story. The next chapter or so may not have as much action as the previous ones for the simple reason that the team isn't trying to kill Soul Society anymore. The next few chapters will mainly focus on Kuroda's return and the team's recuperation.**

**As such, you get to meet some new OC's in this chapter; three actually. I think you'll enjoy it.**

**I don't own Bleach; it is property of Kubo Tite**

Chapter 21

Family reunion

Ichigo felt strange. Not bad strange, or good strange, just…strange. In his dreams, the battle he'd fought with Byakuya Kuchiki, the Captain of the 6th, kept playing over and over again. He remembered Byakuya entering the final stage of his Bankai, his overwhelming power as they fought; how his own power slowly crushed him.

But most of all, he remembered being just inches from death. His body had become immobile, blood seeped from at least three wounds, and Kuchiki's sword descended down upon him. Then, that thing inside of him clawed its way out and took over his body.

Most would have been pleased at the results that his inner hollow had given him in the short time he'd possessed Ichigo's body. But Ichigo himself only felt a sense of dread. After such an ordeal, he needed answers.

Which is why he found great comfort, that when he woke up, he woke up in his inner world with Zangetsu silently watching over him.

"Old man Zangetsu," he said as he woke,

"Ichigo," acknowledged the spirit,

Ichigo pushed himself off of the ground and gave himself a good stretch.

"Um, why am I here?" he asked,

"Why do you ask me?" replied the spirit, "I only bring you here, for your benefit. Was it not you that wished for something?"

Ichigo's eyes widened slightly.

"You, know?"

"You and I are one Ichigo, I know all that rests in your heart," lectured the spirit,

"Right, I remember that," assured Ichigo, "well, during my fight with Byakuya. I got myself backed into a corner. Then, I think that, that thing that you summoned earlier when you saved me from Kenpachi, it broke out and took over my body."

"Yes," said Zangetsu, "I remember."

"I was just wondering, do you think it may become a problem in the future?"

"It will one become one if you allow it to be," replied Zangetsu,

"What's with the cryptic answer?" whispered Ichigo,

"It is to make you use your own mind instead of mine," said Zangetsu,

"Uh, but-"

"I will answer, this time."

"Oh, okay, good," sighed a relieved Ichigo,

"Your hollow will only appear if you let it. When you feel despair, when you are unable to stand up, that is when it can find its way into the cracks of your soul. The most often that happens, is when you face an opponent that is greater than you. Such as when you fought Kenpachi."

Ichigo nodded, he'd remember how fighting Kenpachi was like forever. That initial feeling of fear, how he'd felt so overwhelmed and could only care about how to survive. He'd felt the same way just seconds before Byakuya's blade had touched his throat.

Sure, he'd screamed in his head that he needed to win. But he, like everyone, bowed down to the fear that gripped his heart just moments before death.

His hand balled into a fist. He needed to get stronger. The truth was that he had not actually defeated Byakuya. Had it not been for that thing, he would have lost.

"But how?" he asked aloud,

"Perhaps, Kuroda could help you," suggested Zangetsu,

"Kuroda?"

"Though you do not know it, that man has more to do with the rise in your power than anyone else."

"Really? I'll have to thank him later," decided Ichigo,

Zangetsu grunted in agreement, "it is time for you to wake Ichigo, you've slept long enough."

Ichigo was suddenly and violently sucked out of his inner world and thrust into the real one.

His eyes shot open.

The first thing he noticed was that he was in a bed and that there were windows on his ceiling, not on any of the walls or where you'd usually find windows. Next was the soreness in his shoulder and sides, but when he pulled off the covers there were no wounds to speak of.

"Orihime healed your wounds,"

Ichigo whipped around to see Kuroda, sitting down against the room's far wall.

"But your body still needs to recover on it's own," Kuroda continued as he stood up and walked to a table with a tea set on it, "although, she is much better at doing that thing of hers, then she was a week or two ago."

"Kuroda," said Ichigo, "where are we?"

"Drink this first," said Kuroda and handed him a cup full of tea,

Ichigo graciously accepted, realizing he was indeed very thirsty. He quickly glugged down the warm heavenly brew; letting out a loud satisfied sigh when he finished it.

"Man, that was some good tea," he said,

"Really? She'll be pleased to hear that," said Kuroda as he took the cup from Ichigo,

"Oh, did Yoruichi make that tea?"

"No," was all Kuroda would say,

"Oh, so, um, where are we exactly?" he asked,

"Seireitei's black operation headquarters," replied Kuroda,

"This," he said gesturing to the room, "used to be my division's guest room,"

"Really? Wow, wait, what do you mean 'used to'" asked Ichigo,

"Well technically I'm not part of the black ops divison anymore, remember? I'm in exile"

"Oh yeah," said Ichigo, "what's with the sky lights?"

"The entire division's barracks, is underground," explained Kuroda,

"Eh?"

"That's right, we're underground. We're a very secretive group. As such we keep our division in a place no one can see. Very few outside of the group know where it is."

"Wow," was all Ichigo could say, though he noticed that despite his friends claim that he was no longer part of the division, he continued to refer to the division and him as "we".

"Do you feel well enough to walk?" asked Kuroda,

"Yeah, I feel pretty good actually," said Ichigo,

"Alright then," said Kuroda, he opened up a closet and grabbed Zangetsu, then tossed it to Ichigo.

Ichigo caught the oversized blade and strapped it to his back, glad to have its familiar weight on him again.

Kuroda opened the door, "come on, your friends have been waiting for you to wake up."

Ichigo followed his friend out and down a rather dimly lit hallway.

"Why is everything here dark?" asked Ichigo, "how do you get sunshine?"

"We have a few windows scattered throughout the barracks to bring in sunlight," explained Kuroda, "but since the barracks is at least 10ft underground, the windows have to be sparse and far between. We mostly use torch light, it doesn't light things up very well but it works."

"Is there any part of this barracks that isn't underground?" asked Ichigo as they continued,

"A small part of it is secretly in the back of the 1st division barracks. We keep it hidden by disguising it as a part of the barracks that's used for storing top secret files."

"Eh? Is your boss okay with that, the, the, the, uh-"

"Captain Commander Yamamoto?"

"Yeah, him, the old man."

"He was the one who thought of it in the first place."

"Oh"

Kuroda stopped them in front of a door and pushed it open.

"Guess who's awake," he called as he walked in,

Ichigo followed after and saw that Kuroda had taken them to what looked to be a mess hall. Though it wasn't much of a hall, it was about the size of two of Ichigo's kitchens put together. A large sky window decorated the middle of the ceiling, overlooking a long table that could probably seat a dozen or so people. Around five torches lit the room, giving it a bit more light.

To the far right was what looked like a large kitchen, there, all of Ichigo's friends were located.

"Ichigo!" Orihime called joyfully from chopping some sort of vegetables.

"You got up quicker than I thought you would," chirped Uryu,

Chad gave a simple sound of greeting, then turned back to cooking something. Ichigo happily went to meet them all.

Kuroda, being who he was, hung back at let Ichigo mingle about.

"Woke up already did he?"

Kuroda turned to see Yoruichi approaching him from the right, a smile on her face.

"Orihime did a good job in healing his wounds," replied Kuroda, "it shouldn't be surprising that he got up when he did."

"Perhaps," she replied.

Throughout the entire yesterday and last night, Yoruichi had not once brought up the topic of Kuroda's seals or his horrific episode on the Soukyoku hill. Something that Kuroda was very thankful for. If she had asked, he truly wouldn't have known how to respond.

He knew though, that eventually he would have to tell her. When that day came, she would never see him the same again, that much was certain.

Unintentionally, he let out a depressed sigh.

"Hey, why so gloomy?" she asked,

"Huh? Oh, nothing," he replied, "just, thinking."

There was a brief pause between the two as they watched Ichigo talk with his friends. Kuroda, though he did not know it himself, looked on with a bit of envy. Yoruichi however, could see it. She could see his longing to be like Ichigo, one who could be both strong and have friends.

She considered herself a close friend of Kuroda's, but that didn't mean he considered her one.

"Kuroda,"

"Hm?"

"You know you can talk to me if you need to, right?"

A brief pause before he said, "yeah, of course."

Yoruichi stepped in a bit closer and place her hand on his bicep. Kuroda turned to face her, a small bit of pink on his cheeks.

"Just making sure," she told him before going to join the others.

'I command you to slow down' he told his heart.

"Morning Commander,"

Kuroda turned around to see Kaito and Rajin entering the mess hall.

"I thought I told you not to call me that anymore,"

"Hey, you'll always be our Commander," teased Kaito, "even if you don't want to be."

"I second that," commented Rajin,

Kuroda rolled his eyes.

"Kuroda!" called Yoruichi, "come on over here."

Kuroda let out sigh, "come on guys."

"Hey since when is she your ball and chain?" asked Kaito,

"She's not my ball and chain,"

"Girlfriend?" asked Rajin,

"No"

"Lover?" asked Kaito,

"No"

"Friend with benefits" suggested Rajin

"No"

"Sex buddy?" decided Kaito

"God No"

"Good Friend?"

"N-,uh, well"

"What are you boys talking about?" asked Yoruichi as they reached her,

"Uh, nothing," replied Kuroda,

"Guys," he said calling over the group, "you haven't been properly introduced to my division yet."

"This is Rajin Takeda, Lieutenant of the Black operations division, also known as Rakurai" introduced Kuroda,

"A pleasure," said Rajin, giving a small bow

"And this, is-"

"I'm Kaito Shibata!" interrupted Kaito, "3rd seat of the Black operations division."

"Don't let his appearance fool you, he's relatively well mannered," quipped Rajin,

"Hey!" Kaito called in protest,

Rajin held up his hands in mock surrender.

"A pleasure to meet you too, I'm Orihime Inoue"

"Uryu Ishida, Quincy"

"Yasutora Sado, but people call be Chad"

"Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Shinigami,"

"Oh! You're the Commander's student," realized Kaito,

"Student?" asked Ichigo,

"Yeah, he taught you how to fight and all right?"

"Pretty much,"

"That makes you a fellow student," explained Kaito, "the Commander taught us all how to fight too."

"Oh, so you're a teacher Kuroda?" decided Orihime,

"Not exactly Orihime,"

"Let's get breakfast started huh?" interrupted Rajin, "I prefer not to starve in my own barracks."

"Okay!" said Orihime "I'll start finishing my chocolate peanut butter and wasabi omelet"

Neither Rajin nor Kuroda seemed very keen on that idea. But Kaito seemed intrigued and said "That sounds good! Better make a few more cause I eat a lot!"

"Okay! Let me just-"

"Hm? What's the problem?" asked Kaito,

"My knife, I was using it to cut the chives but it's gone now."

"Are you sure you left it here?"

"I'm sure"

"Hey, where did my sewing kit go?" Uryu suddenly asked,

"Sewing kit?" asked Rajin

"I always keep a sewing kit with me wherever I go, just in case, but it's gone now."

Kuroda sighed, "For the love of all that's magical. Keiji! Give back their stuff!"

As if by magic, Keiji suddenly appeared before them.

"Heh, sorry about that" he said, a hand rubbing the back of his head nervously, from his robes he produced both Orihime's knife and Uryu's sewing kit.

"I believe you've met the Black op's division's 6th seat before."

"Yes," said Orihime as she took back her knife, "you sent him to save us right?"

"More or less" replied Kuroda, "you'll have to forgive him. He has an insatiable need to steal everything he sees."

"Oh that's okay" said Orihime as she went back to cooking.

"You" said Kuroda as he turned to Keiji, "starting helping out."

"Of course sir," said Keiji,

"Oh, and Keiji," called Kuroda, he held out his hand expectantly.

Keiji sighed and produced Chad's golden coin necklace, then handed it back to Kuroda.

Kuroda nodded then gave it back to Chad.

"Sorry about that,"

"No worries," replied Chad before going back to help.

After breakfast, Kuroda decided to give the group a small tour of the barracks.

First showing them training area which contained a dueling ring, obstacle course, and gym, then going on to show them what was once his office.

Orihime commented that the place could use more natural light and that this must be why Kuroda was so gloomy all the time. Kaito got a kick out of that.

After the tour of the barracks, Yoruichi convinced Kuroda to then give the group a tour of Seireitei. Rajin and Kaito left, saying that they had some business to attend to and would catch up later.

"I haven't been here for a century," he had protested.

"One year or a hundred, doesn't make much of a difference here," she had replied.

And so Kuroda found himself leading the group around the streets of Seireitei.

"Where are we going now?" asked Ichigo,

"8th division barracks, I've got someone I need to see while we're in the area," replied Kuroda,

"Oh, you're going to see her already?" teased Yoruichi,

"I haven't seen her in a long time," replied Kuroda, "I'd be wrong of me to not visit when I have the chance."

"Who do you think they're talking about?" Orihime asked in a hushed voice,

"Well, since Yoruichi is bringing it up, perhaps it is an ex-lover of Kuroda's" reasoned Uryu,

"Really?" said Orihime, "poor Yoruichi, she must feel so depressed."

"I can hear you back there!" reminded Kuroda, prompting the group to break there little discussion.

They soon found their way to the gates of the 8th division, a pair of tall and wide wooden doors with the number 8 above it. Kuroda knocked on the gates; a shinigami quickly opened the gates for them and told them that they were expected.

"Why are we expected?" asked Ichigo,

"She probably knew that I'd be coming," explained Kuroda.

"Who? Who are we visiting?"

"Well," started Kuroda as they entered the courtyard, "if I know her at all. Then we should be seeing her right about-"

The ex-commander was suddenly interrupted when a figure shot out from the sky. Kuroda sidestepped out of the way, narrowly avoiding a powerful kick.

But the figure quickly spun around and lashed out with another kick. Kuroda easily stepped out of its range but found that the figure's real intent was to buy time to draw it's blade and lash out with it in an attempt to decapitate him.

Kuroda dodged under the blade, the figure struck out again and again with deadly precision. His attacker jumped up and lashed out with a kick to his head, he raised his arm and easily blocked it. But the figure suddenly thrust out its blade at his face.

He quickly flipped his blocking hand around and grabbed his attacker by the ankle, then tossed them away before it could skewer his brain.

The figure landed on its back but immediately jumped back up, only to find Kuroda nowhere to be seen.

Finally staying still, the group got their first look at the newcomer.

The attacker was very slender and obviously female. She wore a form fitting shihakusho, very much like that of 2nd division Captain and Yoruichi, though her hakama had been replaced with tights and her uniform was not sleeveless.

Her face was covered by a black scarf and a hooded cloak wrapped around her neck.

She was not very tall, perhaps a head shorter than Orihime but she held herself like a warrior, well trained and always on guard.

Then there were her eyes. They were cold as steel, in fact they bore an almost identical look to Kuroda's eyes.

Which was why it was very surprising that she suddenly began to cry out in pain when Kuroda rematerialized behind her and grabbed her by the ear like a parent would a child.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" she cried as he none too gently held on to her ear,

"Is that anyway to greet me?" he questioned as he continued punishing her.

"Ow! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she cried, "I give up! I give up!"

Kuroda let out an exasperated sigh and released her from his grip, then pulled off the girl's hood, revealing her face and rather peculiar hair style.

Judging from her face, she'd be about 16 by human years. She was pale, very pale, but at the same time seemed to be quite pretty, like a porcelain doll. The only imperfection on her face was a thin scar that cross across down from her right brow down to her left jaw bone.

Her sky blue hair was cut short enough that it could almost be considered boyish. The only part of her hair that was long, was a part of her bangs, which stretched down passed her chin.

The girl turned to face the much taller man and looked up at him with almost indignant eyes.

"How have you been, Mei?"

"Good," she mumbled,

"You've gotten better since last time," commented Kuroda,

Mei's indignation was replaced with a sudden giddy happiness.

"R-really?" she asked hopefully,

"Mmhmm"

"I've been working on my hakuda," she admitted sheepishly,

"I noticed, your kicks were much stronger than before and you've definitely gotten faster"

Mei squealed in a giddy girlish way.

"Uh, who is that girl?" whispered Ichigo,

"Not sure" replied Uryu, "but they seem to be real close."

"Oh my, I had no idea that Kuroda was, into such things," blushed Orihime,

"Guys," said Kuroda as he walked over, "this is Mei, 3rd seat of the 8th division"

"Nice to meet all of you," bowed Mei,

"Nice to meet you too" said Orihime,

"Uh, Kuroda, just who is this girl?" asked Ichigo,

"She's-"

"He's my Dad!"

The group's jaws hit the floor as they took in the new information. Never in their life, would they have imagined that Kuroda would have, a daughter!

"Mei, I told you not to-"

"Kuroda! You have a kid" yelled Ichigo,

"Well actually-"

Orihime squealed, "Awwww! That's so cute! Who's the mom?"

"No you see-"

"Well, this certainly changes my perception of you Kuroda," said Uryu,

"But she's-"

"My best wishes," said Chad,

"OKAY STOP!" roared Kuroda,

Everyone immediately stopped talking, lest they bring down the man's wrath upon them.

"She's not really my daughter," he finally said, "she's just some kid I pulled off the streets one day."

"Yeah, but you treat her like a daughter," teased Yoruichi, "remember how you taught her how to fight? Just like a Dad teaching his kid how to walk, it was so cute."

"Not, helping" growled Kuroda,

"Awww, that's sweet," said Orihime, "it's like a novel that I read somewhere but can't remember the title."

"So, how'd you find her?" asked Uryu,

"I'll tell you while we continue the tour," replied Kuroda, "Mei, do you want to come?"

"Okay!"

_Flash Back_

"_It is decided then!" yelled an official of Central 46, "District #80 of the North Alley of Rukongai, also known as Zaraki, shall be liquidated."_

"_Agreed!"_

"_Agreed!"_

"_Agreed!"_

"_Agreed!"_

"_You have your orders, Commander, now go and carry them out!"_

_Kuroda, Commander of the Black Operations division, knew only one reply, "yes sir"_

_That night, Kuroda gathered his division and marched them to Zaraki to carry out their dark orders. With all of them running at top speed, they reached Zaraki in only a few hours._

_Kuroda, with a steely look, surveyed the district under the pale moonlight. An ominously cold wind blew through, chilling his bones and heart._

_He took a moment to take in a deep breath, then let it out._

_He turned to his subordinates and nodded, simultaneously, they all went off to carry out their assigned tasks._

_Before Kuroda could turn back, he noticed a lone figure still present._

"_Is there a problem, Lieutenant?"_

"_No," said Rajin, "but sir, why are we doing this?"_

_Kuroda raised an eyebrow before saying, "the local gang bosses are out to induce chaos. They want to move up into the high districts and take over. We cannot allow such a thing, criminals belong in Zaraki."_

"_We, used to belong to Zaraki," reminded Rajin,_

"_So we did, but not anymore," replied Kuroda, "you have your orders, go to it."_

"_Yes sir"_

_The plan was simple. So as to not arouse suspicion to the sudden extinction of hundreds of people in a single district, a cover story would be needed. And like all cover stories, this one would have at least a little bit of truth in it._

_So, what was the cover story? The oldest one in the book: A hollow attack._

_The members of the division swept across the district like shadows through the night. Soundless, invisible, untouchable. Not a single person in that district would have found anything out of the ordinary that night. Not even as the members entered a house every ten meters and planted hollow bait, not even as they surrounded the area with a kido barrier, not even as Kuroda flipped the kill switch and let loose Central 46's judgment._

_First, there was the heart seizing howls_

_Then the terrified screams_

_And finally, blood_

_The effects of the bait were instant. Hollows swarmed out of Hueco Mundo like bees out of their hive. Everywhere across the district, they leapt into the streets and began finding the nearest souls to devour._

_Most in Zaraki, were armed with crude blades or other makeshift weapons. Some were even decent fighters._

_But they would never be prepared for hollows._

_These monsters were something only shinigami truly knew how to handle._

_Slews of men were destroyed by the masked monsters, screams echoed into the night as one after another were devoured._

_Some would call this a nightmare, for the members of the Black Operations division, it was life._

_A full half an hour passed, and most of the citizens were dead. Some hold outs had managed to take down a dozen or so hollows but would soon fall._

"_Sir," said Rajin as he appeared by his Commander,_

"_Move to the next phase of the plan," he ordered,_

"_Yes sir"_

_Kuroda drew his blade._

_The next phase of the plan, was clean up. The Hollows had been efficient in destroying the majority of the thugs, but some of the citizens had such little reiatsu that the hollows would never be able to find them, in addition, hollows that had feasted on so much blood would most likely try to press their luck and continue on._

_This, was what they were here for. Clean up._

_The shinigami descended down upon the hollows and remaining citizens like hawks upon their prey. Kuroda almost felt sorry for the citizens, to believe that someone had come to save you only for them to turn around and kill you too, was something that would churn stomachs._

_But Kuroda didn't bat an eye as AnShen sliced through hollow and human alike, he felt nothing as blood splattered on his clothes, or when he was forced to run after a fleeing man or woman, sometimes even a child._

_No, he felt nothing._

_He simply acted._

_He walked through the blood drenched streets, searching for something else to kill._

_He was about to call the pull out when he suddenly caught wind of a reiatsu signal, mixed with several others. It was small by his division's standards, but quite large for a citizen of Rukongai, almost shinigami level._

_This warranted further investigation._

_Sheathing AnShen, he made his way towards the signal. As he got closer, he heard the distinct sounds of hollow, along with the sound of a sword swinging through the air._

_Someone was fighting against the hollows._

_He made his way closer and closer, until finally he stumbled upon something unusual._

_A hollow, though not extraordinary in itself, this particular hollow intrigued him as it's right arm and both legs were bleeding badly, to the point that the hollow could no longer use them._

_Whoever this person was, must have been quite handy with a blade. Kuroda ended the hollows life with a single swipe of his blade, and moved on._

_Eventually, he stumbled upon the source of the reiatsu signal. As he turned a corner, he saw a flash and watched as a hollow stumbled back, it's arm bleeding along with several other minor wounds._

_Kuroda looked up and saw, much to his surprise, a young girl, perhaps only ten years old, armed only with a jagged katana, standing her ground against three other hollows._

_Kuroda's eyes widened ever so slightly._

_The girl was bleeding from a cut across her forehead and her left leg was limp. She was obviously tired, panting like a dog with sweat drizzling down her face. But still, she held up her blade._

_A hollow jumped at her, she growled and lashed out with her blade, cutting it across the palm of its clawed hand. It recoiled in pain, she pressed the attack and slashed at its leg._

_The hollow fell to the ground on its back, before she could try and finish it off, another jumped at her._

_This time she was too slow and it smacked her away, sending her crashing into a wall._

'_She's finished' he thought,_

_But amazingly enough, she wasn't. She stubbornly pushed herself up and raised her blade._

_The hollow, apparently frustrated, slashed at her with his claws. She rolled under the attack, dashed between its legs and cut at its Achilles tendons, bringing it down._

_The hollow she'd pushed back earlier, was now up and charged at her with like a wild animal. She quickly raised her blade as the creature slammed head first into her._

_Kuroda thought that for sure the girl would be dead this time. But no, instead, the hollow let out one last scream before disappearing._

_The girl was still alive, but obviously inches from death._

_One hollow wounded, and one still healthy. Not very good odds._

_But the fire in the girls eyes made Kuroda believe that perhaps, she could win._

_The last hollow who'd wisely hung back while it's companions were killed, now jumped on the opportunity to take the kill for itself._

_Her body slowed from blood loss could not stop the hollow from scooping her up in its hands and slowly bring it to its mouth._

_But the girl stubbornly refused to accept death. With the last ounce of her strength, she bit down on the hollows fingers._

_While it did not necessarily wound the hollow, it surprised it and hurt it enough to make it let go. But the girl had no intention of dropping back to the ground. Instead she clung to its hand and swung herself at the beast's face._

_Her blade flashed and the hollow dropped the ground, dead._

_The last hollow, still on its back, could do nothing as the girl finished it off with a stab between its eyes._

_The girl, with no more energy in her body, fell to her knees._

_Kuroda walked out into the alley, sword drawn._

_The girl looked up, with much effort; she pushed herself up and raised the sword or at least tried to._

_Still intrigued, Kuroda tested her with a few harmless swings. She blocked them or stumbled out of the way, mostly the latter._

"_A shame" he whispered when she finally fell to her knees in exhaustion, "you have some real potential."_

_With a halfhearted swing, he ended her life._

_Blood splattered on the ground, he sheathed his blade and began to walk away._

_But suddenly, he stopped._

'_Impossible' he thought to himself, he whipped around to see the girl, still alive, and crawling away._

_The katana that she had held had been cut in half, she had thrown it up at the last second, saving her life from his blade. Instead of death, she had received a thin cut from her right brow down to her left jaw bone._

_He walked over to the girl and roughly flipped her on to her back, then knelt down bringing his face down to hers._

"_Do you want to die girl?" he asked her softly,_

_She looked up at him with dead eyes and whispered, "No"_

"_I can save you," he whispered back to her, "but if I do, you have to do something for me."_

_She looked up expectantly._

"_You'll have to become a shinigami,"_

_Her eyes widened._

"_I offer you your life, in exchange you dedicate your life to the servitude of Seireitei. I suggest you think about it before you answer."_

_She seemed to give it some thought, with her hand she motioned for him to come closer. He lowered his ear down to her and listened._

_Rajin soon arrived on the scene, just as Kuroda was finished listening to the girl's answer._

"_Sir, all targets have been eliminated," reported the blonde man._

"_Good," replied Kuroda as he turned back to his Lieutenant,_

_Rajin looked down and noticed the girl, still breathing._

"_Sir, the girl is-"_

"_Get the 5__th__ seat over here and have her perform emergency care," ordered Kuroda,_

"_But sir, our orders are to eliminate all citizens of Zaraki"_

"_And so we did,"_

_Rajin opened his mouth to protest but quickly thought better of it._

"_Yes sir, I'll do as you ask."_

_With that he shunpo'd away._

_Flash Back end_

"That's basically how it happened," finished Kuroda,

The entire group, save Yoruichi and Mei stared at Kuroda with bewilderment. The idea that he had initially left Mei to fend for herself, then tried to killer her, then rescued her was almost too much to take in.

"She's been under my care ever since," he continued in a monotone,

"Yup," said Mei in an equally monotone voice, "best day of my life."

"But, he tried to kill you" Ichigo protested,

"So?"

"He tried to kill you!" repeated the Substitute,

"He tried to kill me a few times after that too," she pointed out, "it was good training."

"Uh…so, where are we going next?" asked Uryu in an effort to change the subject,

"Well, it's noon and we have a lunch appointment,"

"We do?" they all asked,

"We do," he answered, "let's go"

"I used to think I knew Kuroda pretty well," said Ichigo as they followed after the man, "but now, I feel like he's a total stranger."

"I'm personally not all that surprised," said Uryu,

"Eh? Why?"

"Kuroda has always been distant, those who are distant usually do it because they have something to hide," explained Uryu, "can you ever recall a time when you or any other person spent more than an hour with Kuroda, just hanging out?"

"Uh, well…no" admitted Ichigo,

The orange haired teen looked at the tall dark haired ex-commander of the Black Ops division. Mei, his self-proclaimed daughter, was talking to the man comfortably, while Yoruichi threw in a comment every now and then.

'I really don't know you do I?' thought Ichigo, 'but you've always helped me out regardless, I guess not much has really changed.'

"We're here," announced Kuroda,

They'd come to a large restaurant, the entrance was well decorated with a vivid red and gold theme. Red and Gold Koi flew next to a sign that read "**The Koi Pond**"

Yoruichi's eyes noticeably lit up when she saw that they were going to this particular restaurant.

"You chose this one on purpose didn't you?" she asked,

"I like it too you know," he reasoned,

"You don't have to lie, I appreciate it," she assured, "it's very sweet of you."

Kuroda simply opted not to respond, as he knew that would only encourage her.

They entered into the restaurant where they were greeted by a hostess.

"Welcome to The Koi Pond," she said politely, "how many?"

"We have a reservation for 9," replied Kuroda,

"Oh yes, you are…Kuroda Ryou?"

"That's me,"

"Very good, please follow me to your table,"

The hostess led them to a private dining room. In it was a long table, capable of seating ten and carved with numerous intricate patterns.

"So pretty," commented Orihime as she sat down in one of the comfortable chairs.

The hostess handed them a set of menus, then left them to their deciding.

"I love this places sushi," said Yoruichi as they looked through the menus, "best I've ever eaten."

"I think we should try these noodles," said Chad,

"Wow, they have octopus here!" said Orihime,

A knock on the door interrupted their conversations.

"I'll get it!" said Orihime,

The girl stood up from her seat and walked over to the door.

She opened it and found Rukia waiting on the other side.

"Rukia! It's so good to see you!" said Orihime giddily,

The shinigami offered the orange haired girl a smile, "it's good to see you too Orihime."

Rukia was currently out of uniform as she still had not the strength to return to active duty. So instead she wore a pink kimono with a lovely red flower design.

"Oh, you must be one of Kuroda's new friends"

Orihime looked to see a new face behind Rukia, a woman. She had long lavender hair propped up in a tight pony tail with a few wavy bangs flowing down her beautiful face, a very detached look in her deep brown eyes, and dark red lips.

She was about Orihime's height and wore the same uniform that Rajin, Kaito, and Keiji wore, though hers was noticeable less tight and the ends of her sleeves were not bound shut.

But even so, Orihime could tell that she had a very curvaceous figure.

"Well aren't you a cute little girl!" observed the woman,

"Oh, thank you," Orihime replied sheepishly, "uh, please come in!"

The two followed Orihime into the room,

"Hello everyone," announced Rukia,

"Rukia!" called Ichigo, surprised to see her already, "you're up already?"

"You're one to talk, after that thrashing you took yesterday," she joked,

"Hey now, come on,"

Rukia smiled, "I'm well enough to walk around, but I still need a bit until my powers return to full."

"Cool," said Ichigo,

"Oh, are you Kuroda's friend?" he asked, noticing the woman behind Rukia,

"Yup," she said, "my name is Itsumi, 5th seat of the Black operations division."

"Hi, Ichigo Kurosaki,"

"Uryu Ishida"

"Yasutora Sado"

"Nice to meet all of you," she replied,

"Hello Yoruichi, long time no see!" she called when she saw the other purple haired woman,

"Hi! Itsumi, it's good to see you again!"

Finally, she turned to Kuroda.

"Hello Kuroda," she said sentimentally,

"Hello Mother,"

(&&*$&%(*#%^)&_#%)#*%(Y)#^%)%)#)#*(%&#()%)

In Hueco Mundo

"Are you sure you will be alright, Tosen?" asked Aizen,

"Do not worry about me Lord Aizen," replied Kaname, "more importantly, has your own wound healed?"

"Yes, do not fear for my life Kaname," assured the man, "Kuroda's blade did not strike as hard as he believed."

Aizen stood upon one of the many strange pillars that were for some reason scattered across the sands of Hueco Mundo, with his two subordinates: Tosen and Gin.

Suddenly a new figure joined them.

"Tyran, what have you found?"

"It looks like Baraggan is still the King around here, he's to the north, he's got quite the army with him too. I didn't want to get too close, he still hasn't forgiven me for kicking his ass all those years ago."

"I see, anything else?"

"There's another much stronger presence farther away, must be a vasto lorde or something else. There's also a female vasto lorde nearby, she has three adjuchas under her command."

"Very good, they will make good additions to my army," decided Aizen, "but, what else?"

"Hm?"

"I can tell something bothers you Tyran, what is it?"

"I agreed to be in this little army of yours because you gave me power," started Tyran, "but so far I haven't gotten to do anything fun"

"Disrespectful cur, I'll cut that tongue out of your-"

"Restrain yourself Tosen," commanded Aizen,

Tosen seemed reluctant but eventually obeyed.

"I want to know," continued Tyran, "they shinigami that attacked you while escaping. What's his name?"

Aizen smiled, "Kuroda Ryou, ex-commander of Seireitei's Black Operations division."

"Is he strong?"

"A century ago, he was considered Soul Society's greatest warrior, someone who could rival those of the Royal Guard or even the Captain Commander. Even now, I believe there is truth to that."

"And what is he like? Personally?"

"He is the kind of man who'd toss his own men into the fire and abandon all bonds of friendship, just so that he may become more powerful. He was even once known as; The Bloody Shadow"

"Bloody Shadow huh? Sounds like someone, that's a lot like me," whispered Tyran as a smile spread across his face, "just you wait Shadow, we'll see how you hold up against me."

(&*#%(%^(#))#%)(*&%)#^*%)#)(#%&)#()

"EH! Mother?" screamed Ichigo, "Just how many family members have you been hiding?"

"More importantly," said Uryu, "I don't see any familial resemblance."

"Oh I'm not really Kuroda's mother," she explained, "I'm actually terrified of giving birth. He's really just some kid me and my husband dragged of the streets one day."

The entire group gave Kuroda and his mother a strange look.

"I'm sensing a pattern here," mumbled Ichigo,

"But no sense talking about the past on an empty stomach," said Itsumi "let's order and eat!"

And so the rest of the lunch was spent eating and talking about Kuroda's mother. In the case of Itsumi and Yoruichi, it was eat, talk, and drink. A lot of drink.

Kuroda let out an exasperated sigh as his mother downed her fifth sake bottle.

"You shouldn't drink so much, it's bad for your health," he reminded her,

"Your father said the same thing, you're so much like him my little boy," she teased as she none too gently ruffled his hair.

Ichigo restrained laughter out of fear that Kuroda would murder him if he didn't.

"So Yoruichi, are you and my boy an item yet?"

Kuroda, who'd been taking a sip of water, nearly choked.

"Oh not yet, but I feel we're getting there," said a tipsy Yoruichi,

"M-Mother!"

"Well, if he's anything like his father, I'm sure he'll make you very happy," said Itsumi "The first night I spent with my husband was the greatest of my life and it only got better from there!"

Just about everyone blushed from hearing that.

"She's nothing like Kuroda," Ichigo whispered to Rukia,

"Yeah, it's hard to believe that she ever raised him," she whispered back,

"Are you two making out over there?" Itsumi suddenly asked,

Both Ichigo and Rukia blushed a deep red as they quickly pulled away,

"No!" Ichigo shouted, "We were just talking!"

"Oh? But you were awfully close to each other."

Kuroda for his part, try to keep as quite as possible as Ichigo continued to try and explain things. He honestly wished his mother would stop acting so goofy, but he had long ago decided to just ignore it.

Truth be told, he was enjoying himself. The food was good, the drink was good, and everyone was having fun, so he just sat down and let things roll on.

After lunch, Mei and Itsumi parted ways from the rest of the group but not before Itsumi reminded Kuroda to "visit his father."

Yoruichi broke off mid-way through the rest of the day to go hang out with some of her shinigami friends.

Night came quickly after that. Everyone retired in the rooms that the Black Operations division provided for them.

Kuroda walked through the halls quietly after showing everyone where they'd be sleeping. Eventually he decided to go to bed himself.

"What a day," he mumbled as he lay down on his bed, "at least nothing bad happened."

He was just about to blow out the candle light when someone suddenly flung open his door. He looked up to see Yoruichi, who literally stumbled into his room.

"Yoruichi? What are you doing here?"

"I'm gonna go to bed," she said in a slurred voice, "I think I drank a little too much."

"No kidding," he said as she reeked of alcohol, "are you drunk?"

"hehe, maybe?" she teased as she walked closer,

"Uh, hey, you're room isn't here its-"

He was cut off as Yoruichi flopped down on top of him.

"Oi! You can't sleep with me!"

"Why not?" she asked with her face in his chest.

"Do you really need to ask?"

"But you're so comfortable," she protested as he tried to push her off.

Kuroda blushed, "even so, you can't just-"

Again he was cut off when one of her hands plopped down on his head, ruffling his hair.

"Ooooh, you're hair is pretty soft" she observed tipsily, "I thought it'd be a bit spikier."

"Ugh," he groaned as he slipped out from under her,

"Now I feel cold," she complained,

Kuroda let out a sigh, gently he scooped her up bridal style.

"Where are we going?" she asked as he carried her through the halls,

"You're room,"

"Are we gonna do something fun?" she asked,

"No, but I can't just let you walk around in the dark while your drunk."

"Oh, that's okay, I can see in the dark," she said,

"You can?"

"Yup!"

"Oh, right, of course," he said, "okay, your room should be right-"

"Commander?"

Kuroda turned his head to see Rajin and Kaito, staring at…him.

"Is that, Yoruichi?" asked Rajin,

"Uh, well-"

"We'll leave you alone," said Kaito, grabbing Rajin by the collar,

"Sorry to disturb!" Rajin called as he was dragged away,

"But I-, oh jeez, I'm never going to hear the end of this," he muttered as he carried Yoruichi into her room.

"Okay, now stay here and sleep it off," he ordered as he lay her down on her bed.

"But I don't wanna go to sleep right now," she whined as he turned to leave,

"Why not?" he growled,

"I still have my clothes on," she said, "they're too uncomfortable to sleep in."

"What do you want me to do about it?"

After a brief pause, "undress me."

"Wha-NO!" he yelled, "Just turn into a cat or something."

"But I don't want to turn into a cat," she said,

"Why not?" he muttered,

"Cause you like me better this way, don't you?" she asked cutely,

Kuroda's face inevitably turned bright red.

"I-I, don't' be weird," he growled, "Why would you stay in human form for me?"

"Cause I like you,"

"I-I-I, you're crazy, just sleep it off,"

"But I'm suffering," she whined childishly,

"Ugh," the bad thing about her was that she could actually make him believe that she was suffering.

"Fine," he conceded,

Hesitantly he forced his hands towards her and started by carefully taking off her orange shirt, leaving her in her pants and black undershirt.

'Okay, so far so good' he thought to himself,

"Now take off my pants," she ordered

The sound of cracking glass was heard somewhere in Kuroda's head.

By some unexplainable force, he managed to move his hands to her waist and by some means managed to pull off her pants without fainting right on the spot.

'I can't believe I'm doing this!' he screamed at himself, 'how did I get into this situation!"

Managing to get past his discomfort, he reached behind her neck and untied the knot that held up her black under shirt. This pretty much left her in her underwear.

Kuroda turned away.

"Good enough?" he asked, though he immediately berated himself for asking it in the first place as he knew what the answer would be.

"Can you take off my underwear?"

"HELL NO!"

"This pillow is uncomfortable."

"ugh, hold on a sec. I have to untie your pony tail," he muttered,

Lowering himself to his knees, he carefully untied the piece of string and cloth that held her hair up, letting it spill out onto the ground like splash of purple water.

"Happy now?" he asked, still sitting beside her prone form,

"Mmhmm" she mumbled cutely as she closed her eyes and snuggled against her pillow.

"You're such a handful," he mumbled, without thinking he reached up and began petting her head.

Strangely enough, a low almost rumbling sound came up from Yoruichi, was she purring? Like a cat? Seriously?

Kuroda began to retract his hand but was foiled when Yoruichi's hand suddenly shot up and grabbed him by the wrist and placed his hand back on her head.

'This is so weird,' he thought to himself as he continued petting her.

"Kuroda," she whispered,

"Hm?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to say your name,"

A half an hour passed until Yoruichi finally fell asleep. When she did, Kuroda stayed for a few more minutes, just stroking her lovely long hair until he forced himself to stop and finally leave.

He found it surprisingly hard to return to his own quarters.

But like every other feeling, he ignored it, and fell asleep.

(#$%*()#(%^*))#%(#%()%^)#*%^()#(*%)

The next morning, Yoruichi woke up, not surprisingly, with a hangover.

"ugh, how much did I drink last night?" she wondered out loud, she rubbed her temples and swore, "never again."

But the memory of Kuroda carrying her to her room and putting her to bed, then staying with her until she fell asleep made it all worth it.

A small smile touched her lips.

"Well, maybe one or two more times," she decided,

Quickly getting dressed and taking care of all her morning needs, she hurried over to the mess hall. If she was lucky, perhaps she could get in Kuroda's daily teasing a little early.

But when she arrived, he was nowhere to be seen.

"Uh, where's Kuroda?" she asked,

"He's out!" Kaito replied loudly,

"Argh," groaned Yoruichi, her already splitting headache taking a turn for the worse.

"Keep it down," she ordered, "I had a lot to drink last night."

"Here, have some of this," suggested Itsumi, handing Yoruichi a cup of tea, "it'll help"

Yoruichi appreciatively took the cup and chugged down its steamy contents.

Amazingly her headache disappeared completely soon after she finished the brew.

"Wow, that stuff was great! What was it?" she asked,

"My own special brew," replied Itsumi, "I'm the medical expert here, so I know quite a bit about herbs and what not. Kaito gets drunk a lot with his friend Rangiku, so one day I just decided to make something that got rid of his hangovers."

"Oh, that's a good idea," said Yoruichi,

"It also helps that I go out drinking every week or two,"

"Don't you mean every day or two?" pointed out Rajin,

Itsumi shot him a dark glare, Rajin just held up his hands in mock surrender. Despite his higher rank, he did not wish to anger the 5th seat, she could poison his food.

"Did Kuroda say where he was going?" asked Yoruichi,

Rajin and Kaito glanced at each other, then simultaneously said, "nowhere."

Yoruichi of course, was not satisfied by this answer.

(%#&*(%)(#*(%^)#%)#%*()#*()%&)*(#%^)*%#())(*&)

Kuroda walked through the streets of Seireitei's commercial district. Small stands selling food, trinkets, and other such things were all lined up and down the walk ways. Shops providing various services were also spread around the streets, though he found it strange that there was no convenience store.

"Maybe I should submit the suggestion to the 4th division or something, they don't have anything better to do," he mumbled to himself,

Eventually, after wandering the streets for a good half an hour, he finally found what he was looking for, a flower shop.

From behind the corner of a street, Yoruichi, Ichigo, Orihime, Rukia, Chad, and Uryu all watched as Kuroda walked into the shop.

"So Kuroda does have a sensitive side," said Orihime, "I never would have thought that he'd be a fan of flower arranging."

"Why are we doing this again?" asked Ichigo,

"Come on, don't you want to know why Kuroda's gone off all by himself?" said Yoruichi,

"It's not really our business," reasoned Ichigo, "Kuroda can do whatever he wants to, right Rukia?"

"I think we should adopt some disguises," she said, "moving around in such a large group isn't very effective."

Ichigo fell to the floor.

"Don't worry, I always bring extra clothes," said Uryu, taking out a dozen or so hooded cloaks,

"Where the heck were you hiding those?"

A few seconds later and Kuroda walked out of the shop carrying a bundle of purple daisys.

"He's going, lets follow," ordered Yoruichi,

The group tailed Kuroda for quite some time, following him through alleys, spying on him from roof tops, and using the disguises that Uryu had provided.

Eventually, Kuroda led all the way back near the Black Operations barracks but made a turn towards a nearby forest instead.

"Where's he going?" Orihime asked aloud,

"Let's keep following and find out," said Rukia, "something tells me we're close."

Stealthily, the group followed Kuroda into the forest.

As they did, Kuroda ran his hands across the trees while he walked, almost as if they bore some sort of personal importance to him.

He led them up a flight of pure white stairs up a steep hill.

Finally, Kuroda seemed to arrive at his destination. The top of the hill.

"This is where he wanted to go?" Rukia asked,

"What's that over there?" Orihime pointed out,

"That looks like a…tombstone," answered Ichigo,

Yoruichi's eyes widened as she realized that they may have just intruded on sacred ground.

Kuroda kneeled down to the tombstone and laid the bundle of purple daises down in front of it. He raised a hand and placed it down on the tombstone's head and lowered his eyes in respect.

"Hi Dad,"

**End**

**A/N**

**Wow, that was actually longer than I thought it'd be. So, I hope you like the chapter. You got to meet Kuroda's family and I managed to sneak in a moment between Kuroda and Yoruichi.**

**I had fun writing that part, after all, you can't have a romance without at least one awkward scene where one person is drunk. Sorry if it seemed a little pervy, my teenage brain is weird.**

**Mei and Itsumi will have big parts later on.**

**Character submissions are still open**

**See ya later**

**Please review, subscribe, favorite, etc**

**Omake time!**

"**Oi!" screamed Tyran from behind a door, "Oi!"**

"**What!" shouts Kuroda,**

"**Let me make my appearance already!" demands the character,**

"**You've already made your apprearence," points out Kuroda, "you blasted me with a cero, isn't that enough?"**

"**But they still don't know what I look like!" Tyran screams even louder, "why can't they see what I look like already!"**

"**Maybe DB84 hasn't decided what to make you look like" suggests Yoruichi,**

"**WHAT! !"**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hello everybody! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter; it was just my way of opening Kuroda up and developing the story around him. This one may be a bit short due to my want to pace things a little better but I hope you'll enjoy it as well.**

**Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite**

Chapter 22

Memories of Before

"Hi Dad," whispered Kuroda, his eyes unable to turn up and look at his father's tombstone.

"Dad?" whispered Ichigo,

Orihime gasped, Chad, Rukia, and Uryu who were both surprised, both felt as though they were now intruding.

And Yoruichi, she wasn't quite sure what to feel at the moment.

"Let's go," whispered Uryu, "we shouldn't disturb him."

Chad, Rukia, Ichigo, and Orihime nodded and got to leave. As they left, Ichigo noticed that Yoruichi wasn't following. He turned around to see her still kneeling behind the tree, watching her friend mourn.

"Ichigo," Rukia called quietly,

"Go on ahead," he replied, "I'll catch up in a bit."

He quietly walked up to Yoruichi from behind and tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.

"We should leave," he whispered, "this is a private moment for him, trust me, I know."

Yoruichi looked at him, then back at Kuroda, at him, then back at Kuroda, until she finally said, "I know, but I just feel…I don't know, like I should be here for him."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow, but decided not to protest. He gave her an understanding nod and left.

(*(%&#*%&#^()#%)#%))%&*()#(%)#))#*%&)

Kuroda knelt there for what felt like hours, just holding his hand on top of his father's tombstone, his eyes closed in silent respect.

Finally, he opened them and managed to force his eyes to look upon the inscription written in the stone.

_Taiju Ryou_

_Lieutenant of Seireitei Black Operations_

_Valued Friend, Husband, and Father_

_You will be missed_

Every time Kuroda looked upon these words, he had to convince himself that they were real, that his father really was dead and that it hadn't all just been some dream.

Lieutenant of Black Operations, that's what his father had been.

Right up until he'd been murdered. There had been no ceremony for remembrance, no announcement of his death, and no search for the killer.

Just thinking about it, made Kuroda angry, they could have at least tried to find the killer, but no, life had gone on as though it had never happened.

While Kuroda was never one to be sentimental about anything, his father was something he would never be able to completely let go. He owed that man more than he could remember, everything he had now, he had because this one man decided to drag him off the streets.

"It's been a while," he finally said, of course the grave did not respond.

"Things have been a little…strange" he decided, "I honestly can't think up of a better word for the way things have been."

He paused then said, he took a deep breath and said, "I'm not the Black Ops Commander anymore."

"Please don't get mad at me, I have a good reason," he quickly said,

"You see, the thing is. Aizen, you remember him right? He betrayed Soul Society and part of his betrayal was making me part of some experiment. He got away with it though and blamed it all on Kisuke. "

Kuroda took a moment to compose himself,

"I took care of it though, Seireitei knows the truth. But Aizen got away, so it's not all solved," he admitted,

"Mom is still here, but you probably know that. She's doing well; I don't think she's gotten over your death yet. She still drinks a lot though, which is a good sign, I guess."

"Um, the guys are still here, Kaito's still crazy, Rajin's still keeping him in check. I hear Kaito finally mastered his bankai, before he just sort of winged it when he used bankai."

Then came the part he really didn't want to talk about.

"They…I, still haven't found the guy that killed you. I'm sorry, I really am. I wish…I don't know, that I'd been stronger that night, or maybe that we'd taken a few more guys with us, something. I'm really sorry."

He let loose another sigh.

"I'll keep trying,"

There was a brief pause,

"You, probably want to hear about Yoruichi, don't you?"

This got the purple haired woman's attention.

"Not much is new. She's still the same, teases me a lot, real annoying, needs to grow up a little. Plus she puts me in the worst situations, it's ridiculous really."

Yoruichi felt her heart sink.

"But, she's still always there for me. Even though I'm too stupid and stubborn to accept her help, just like always."

"God, what is wrong with me?" he asked, his voice beginning to raise, "What's wrong with her? I honestly don't understand why she doesn't just, give up on me or something? I'm not worth it, I'm really not. It'd be so much easier if everyone just gave up on me and let me…"

Kuroda clamped his eyes shut for a moment.

"You know something funny?" said Kuroda, "Yoruichi, last night, she said she likes me. Heh, she was drunk, so I don't know how true it is, or what it really meant. I don't know why I'm even thinking about it. I wish you were here, you could tell me how to handle it or something."

"You were right you know, Yoruichi really is great. She's brave, she's cheerful, she's smart, funny, everything. She's strong too, really strong, plus she didn't have to sell her soul to get that strong. Heh, god, I'm horrible."

"I had an episode just yesterday. I lost control, had a bit of a break down, god you'd be pissed if you'd seen it," he joked, "I even hurt Yoruichi. But still, she managed to break me out of it. What would I do without her?"

He swallowed hard.

"I must look pathetic, you'd probably slap my head for all the stuff I've screwed up. That's okay, I probably deserve it. " he continued,

"Look, um, I know I say this every time I come over here. But, thanks for pulling me off the streets when you did. If it wasn't for you, I don't know what would have happened."

_Flash Back_

_Many, many years ago, when Kuroda still lived in Rukongai's district 80: Zaraki. He was still young back then, but he'd learned to kill for what he needed. Meeting Yoruichi had alleviated some of the hardship of his life in gaining those needs, but she had not made them disappear completely._

_Still, it was nice to eat some decent food every now and then, or sleep in a building that wasn't as cold as it was outside._

_But, he still had to go through those things._

_As such, sometimes needing such things drove one to do rash acts._

_Today's was a rather stupid one. In a desperate attempt to find food before starvation claimed him, Kuroda had decided to venture into the territory of a local gang._

_Going into a gang's territory wasn't in itself a danger. As long as you kept your head down and didn't do anything to piss off the members, you'd be relatively safe._

_The problem was that while the gang members didn't attack you, they almost begged for you to attack them. You could always tell who was and wasn't a member of some gang, those who were part of one, ate food openly without fear, those who weren't starved or tortured themselves by watching the latter stuff themselves._

_Kuroda hadn't eaten in two days. Though he didn't know it, his own reiatsu would soon be the death of him, and so he found himself preparing to steal food from gang members. It wouldn't be hard, all he had to do was follow the smell of food and he'd have his targets._

_Making his way through the streets, knife concealed in his sleeve, his eyes scanned the alleys for his prey._

_After only a few minutes of walking, he found his target._

_A group of thugs, bunched together, talking casually over a fire in a dark alley; perfect._

_He'd need a better vantage point if he was going to make this work._

_He quickly picked a suitable building and scurried his way up to its roof, his small but strong hands easily dragging him up its eroded foundations._

_Like a monkey, he found a perfect ledge of the building to perch upon. He'd climbed a good five feet over the thugs, who were still enjoying their ill earned gains._

_Kuroda's mouth watered at the smell of food, whatever it was. From his vantage point, he could see that there were 4 thugs in all. He didn't like those odds, he needed a way to tip things more in his favor._

_To his right he noticed a loos piece of the building's foundation. He carefully made his way over towards it, then tested it's strength. He found that it could be broken away with surprisingly little force. Now all he needed, was to apply it in the right way._

_He took a moment to observe the thugs below. One sitting down on the ground near the fire. Another two standing near the opening of the alley with their back turned, the fourth leaning on the building._

_Perfect._

_With a bit more pressure, the piece of rubble came loose from the wall and dropped to the alley below, right on top of the thug who'd been stupid enough to lean against the building._

_Kuroda was next, he jumped just as the thug who'd been sitting down pitifully backed up in fright from seeing his friend get his head smashed by rubble._

_Kuroda landed upon the man like a bird of prey and sunk his knife up and into his jaw, causing him to die instantly._

_The two other's whipped around just in time to see their friend fall down in a puddle of his own blood._

"_what the hell?" one of the growled,_

_Kuroda didn't give them time to think. He grabbed a stick out of the fire and tossed it at them like a throwing knife. It caught one thug in the eye, causing him to go down in pain._

_The other foolishly turned to check on his friend, letting Kuroda close the distance between them and use his knife to slice at the man's gut._

_Unfortunately, the wound was not enough to kill the man, and he managed to swing back at Kuroda with his jagged blade._

_The young boy barely managed to use his height and dodge under the attack, then step in and shove his knife into the man's stomach._

_The final thug had finally recovered, he charged the small boy and knocked away his knife._

"_Little brat, I'm gonna tear you to pieces," he vowed as his thick hands wrapped around the boy's neck._

_Kuroda felt his lungs beg for air, he tried desperately to pry the man's hands of his throat, but to no avail. Thinking quickly, his hands shot up to the thug's face, his fingers searched, they found, and gouged the man's eyes._

_Blood dripped upon Kuroda's face as the man released him and screamed._

"_You little bastard!"_

_Kuroda slid out from under the thug and grabbed his knife. Without a moment's hesitation he whipped around and cut the man's throat._

_Crimson blood splattered across the ground. Unfortunately, Kuroda's blade had not sunk as deep as he wished it were, resulting in the man gurgling on his own life before finally dying._

_Kuroda panted heavily as he took a moment to recuperate. He was alive, worn down, but alive. He felt a rising sense of satisfaction as that reality made itself be known to him._

_Sheathing his knife, he began to process of securing his winnings._

_By the end of his grisly work, he'd secured a bag of meat buns, some vegetables, a fish, and a bag of rice. A good find._

_He quickly fled the scene in favor of a secluded hut under a bridge that he'd claimed as his own long ago._

_As he opened the door, he was greeted by an empty room._

_The room itself was actually the only room in the entire hut, it was dark, cold, and filled with holes, but it was his._

_The middle of the room had a small pit that he used to make fires. He gathered a few sticks together and lighted one, then broke a branch and skewered the fish, then put it over the fire to cook._

_As he waited for it to finish, he grabbed one of the meat buns and ravenously engulfed it. It managed to satiate him for a bit, the fish thankfully finished soon after and filled him up._

_With his belly full, he curled up next to the dimming fire and fell to sleep._

_If only that day could have ended on a good note._

_His night was suddenly disturbed when someone smashed open the door to his hut. He quickly jumped to his feet, knife in hand. Dark figures crowded his door way, all armed._

_The first one charged forth, wielding a piece of ply wood as his weapon._

_Kuroda ducked under the man's first attack, but was caught across the chin by his second. The blow made him real back in pain, his attacker laughed smugly._

_Kuroda wasn't really angry, because as the man laughed at his own victory, he pounced forward and cut open his stomach._

_The man died as he watched his own entrails spill out onto the floor._

_Another two figures dashed in, both wielding crudely made clubs as their quickly grabbed the dead man's stick and raised it in time to block one of his attacker's strikes, the other one however landed a stinging blow on his shoulder._

_Ignoring the pain, Kuroda sunk his knife into one of the men's stomachs, the other he smacked across the face with his plywood._

_The first died with a whimper as he bled out, the other came back for more. Being bigger and stronger, the man grabbed Kuroda by the neck and slammed him against the wall._

_His blurry, Kuroda did the first thing that came to his mind. He bit the man's hand, drew blood too._

_There was a growl of pain, next thing Kuroda knew, he was flung across the room._

_Someone else, a new attacker, came in and kicked Kuroda in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He saw the thug wind up for another kick, Kuroda stuck out his knife and let the man impale his own foot onto the sharp blade._

_There was a shrill cry as someone fell to the ground and Kuroda yanked back his knife._

_Ignoring all regard for his own life, he jumped upon his fallen enemy and sunk his knife into the first thing he saw, which happened to be the man's chest._

_Someone knocked him off the body, making him lose his weapon. His foot shot out and hit something with a sickening crunch._

_Then there was a sudden pain as something whacked him across the back of his head. The next, was darkness._

_Kuroda woke up later, his vision blurry, his head wracked with pain. But he could realized two things, one, his hands were bound behind his back. Two, he was not alone._

"_He's waking up," someone said,_

"_Make him wake up faster," ordered another voice,_

"_Yes boss."_

_Kuroda's eyes shot wide open as something incredibly hot was suddenly pressed against his bound wrists. He let out a cry of pain and gritted his teeth._

"_There we go," said the same voice, "so you're the little shit that stole food and killed six of my men."_

_Kuroda lifted his eyes to see a very fat, old, and disgusting man. His hair was long, stringy, and grey, quite a few teeth were missing from his mouth, but he was also the biggest guy in the room._

"_You don't look like much," muttered the man, "still, proofs in the bodies."_

_Kuroda glared at him._

"_You've got those eyes too," whispered the man, "tell you what, if you join my crew and pay off what you owe me. I'll spare your ass, how about it?"_

_Kuroda didn't respond, his reward was a foot to the face._

"_I was talking to you," growled the man,_

_Kuroda spat a glob of blood in his face._

"_Why you little…" the man grabbed a cleaver from a table,_

_Kuroda closed his eyes, got ready to die. Strangely enough, his only regret was not living long enough to bring about the change that he had always talked about._

_Suddenly, the sound of a door breaking open and men dying caused Kuroda to open his eyes. He turned his head as best he could to see a man standing in the entrance way, a katana in his hand and a hooded cloak on his back._

"_Who the hell are you?" growled one of the thugs,_

"_Who me?" asked the newcomer, "don't mind me, I'm just here on orders from Seireitei to kill all of you."_

"_A shinigami?" asked someone,_

"_Why do they send shinigami here?"_

"_You guys have been screwing with the peace," replied the figure, "time for you to die."_

"_Ha!" laughed the old fat man, "do you not see shinigami? We have you out numbered! There are 3 dozen of my men in here, and there is only you."_

_The shinigami smiled._

"_You're right, perhaps I should do this without my zanpaktou," he decided, sticking his sword into the ground, "there, now your chances are much better."_

_All at once, the thugs charged at the lone shinigami._

_All at once, they fell to the floor, dead._

"_well that wasn't very fun at all," said the shinigami in mock sorrow as he picked up his blade, "oh well,"_

_The leader of the thugs, shaking in fear, grabbed Kuroda and put a knife to his throat._

_S-Stay back! Or I'll bleed this brat like a pig!"_

_The shinigami immediately stopped._

_The thug seemed to brighten slightly,_

"_Really?" the shinigami asked in an are-you-serious tone, "that's your plan?"_

"_W-what?"_

"_You're not going to kill that kid," said the shinigami as he continued walking forward,_

"_I will!" assured the thug, "I'll slit his throat!"_

_The shinigami kept walking, getting closer and closer. The thug began to back up._

"_Hey! Come on! Aren't you responsible for the citizens?"_

_The shinigami just kept walking forward._

"_I'll do it! I will!" screamed the thug,_

_By now the fat man had been backed into the wall with the shinigami only a foot from him._

"_Go ahead then," taunted the shinigami, "kill the boy, I don't care."_

_The thug's eyes widened._

"_But you won't will you?" he continued, "Taking hostages is always a stupid move. Do you know why I know you won't kill the kid? It's because I know, that you know, if you kill him, you lose your one bargaining chip. After that, I get to tear out your intestines, stuff them down your mouth, cut open your throat, pull them through, and hanging you on a door way by them."_

_The thug, so terrified, shook uncontrollably, his knees practically knocking together in fear._

"_But your lucky today,"_

_The thug perked up,_

"_I'm just gonna stab you in the head."_

"_No wait-"_

_Kuroda heard the all too familiar sound of a blade sink into flesh. The hands around his neck went limp and the knife fell to the floor with him._

_His first move was to grab the knife, awkwardly so, he managed to used it to cut his bounds and free his hands._

"_Ugh," muttered the shinigami, "I'm gonna have to clean my blade when I get home."_

_Kuroda quickly backed away into a corner, knife close to his side._

"_You don't seem real happy to be rescued kid,"_

"_Waiting to see if you're gonna kill me too," he replied, the shinigami snorted as he walked over and kneeled down in front of Kuroda._

_Though dark, Kuroda now had a better picture of the shinigami._

_The man had tan, rough skin. His face was rustic looking, with a large amount of stubble on his face and dark brown eyes. His black hair was a tight and high military cut, suitable for his line of work. But most noticeable of his features was the large amount of black cloth that covered the entire upper left side of his face, so that only his right eye and mouth area were visible._

"_I saw what you did to those thugs," he said, "and those guys who broke into your little hut. Not many children know how to use a blade."_

"_Many children die in this district," Kuroda replied,_

"_True," said the shinigami, "but I imagine that you can't be happy with your life here, killing to survive, starving every day, that noble girl the only connection you have to a better life."_

_Kuroda's eyes widened, how did he know?_

"_I was ordered to kill all, including witnesses," admitted the shinigami, "but it'd be a waste to kill of someone like you. So I've got a deal for you."_

_Kuroda nodded his head skeptically,_

"_Two choices," said the man, holding up two fingers, "one: let me kill you. I have no problem with that. Two: become a shinigami."_

_Kuroda's eyes widened for the second time._

"_It's your choice really," the shinigami told him as he lifted his sword, "I suggest you hurry with our answer, because by the end of 60 seconds, my blade's gonna be in your head."_

_Third time! The guy couldn't be serious! He couldn't make a decision like that in just a minute._

"_1…2…3…4…5…6…7"_

_Kuroda quickly went for the best answer, "I'll be a shinigami!"_

"_Good! Your smart too," decided the shinigami, "I'll be honest, I've never had an apprentice before and I'm mostly doing this because I'm bored, so I'll probably just kill you tomorrow. But let's go."_

_With that said, the shinigami made his way out of the door._

"_Come on!" he called,_

_Kuroda pushed himself to his feet, his mind still racing with what had occurred._

_Weirdest day ever!_

_Wait, did he say apprentice?_

_Flashback End_

Kuroda allowed himself a small smirk of sentimentality.

"You tried to kill me quite a few times," he whispered, "never went through with it though."

"I miss you," he finally admitted,

His trance with his long dead father was broken, when he heard the sound of feet against the ground behind him.

He turned his head to see Yoruichi, cautiously making her way over to him.

"Hey," she said,

"Hey," he replied, turning back to his father's grave.

Yoruichi knelt down beside him, her eyes reading down the gravestone.

"I didn't know that you buried him here," she said, "was there a funeral?"

"No," he whispered,

"He was a good guy, your father, a bit rough around the edges, but was alright," she said, "did he really try to kill you?"

"Yeah,"

"Multiple times?"

"Uh huh,"

"Like father like son huh?" she joked,

Kuroda let out a sigh, "how much did you hear?"

Yoruichi's smile was immediately replaced with a disappointed frown.

"All of it," she murmured, after a long, agonizing silence, she asked, "are you mad?"

"No," he immediately replied, "I'm just surprised you followed me for so long, and stayed as long as you did."

"Huh? Wait you-"

"Would you really expect any less from me?" he asked, "your group made enough noise to wake a Kaito from his sleep."

Yoruichi giggled, "yeah, I guess."

"Do you think I'm weak?" he asked,

"What?"

"Do you think I'm a hypocrite too?" he continued, "it's okay if you do."

"Hold on now," she interrupted, "I could never think any of those things about you."

"But they're true, aren't they," he said ever so shakily, "visiting the fallen, how very against what I believe."

"Stop it," she demanded, "you're not doing yourself any favors by talking like this about yourself. Do you really think that holding attachment to others is a weakness?"

"Yes," he answered honestly,

Yoruichi gave a flick on the head, "then you're an idiot."

"I know,"

Yoruichi rubbed her temples; this was not working at all.

"Look," she started, "is this about losing Aizen."

Yoruichi saw Kuroda visibly wince, she'd hit the hammer on the head.

She sighed, "no one blames you for that, Aizen is a crafty bastard, there's no reason for you to feel ashamed of losing him."

"But I should have been able to take him down," said Kuroda, "and now, because I didn't…"

"Will you please stop…" Yoruichi trailed off, it was clear that she wasn't going to snap him out of it this way.

"Look, I can understand that your frustrated and disappointed that _we _weren't able to catch Aizen and finally put him down for good," she began, "I'm frustrated too."

Kuroda lowered his eyes.

"You really want to kill him, don't you?"

"I have to," he replied shakily, his hands unintentionally balled into fists, "after all he did. Shiniji, Rose, Mashiro, Love, Hiyori, Lisa, Hachi, Kensei, he ruined their lives, forced them into exile. Then he blamed it all on Kisuke, he didn't deserve that, he shouldn't have been accused of such high level crimes."

Kuroda gritted his teeth, his reiatsu beginning to become sporadic.

"And then, you got involved…" he began to trail off,

"What about me?" she asked curiously,

Kuroda reluctantly said, "you shouldn't have had to come save us, you shouldn't have lost your position. You shouldn't have…this just shouldn't have happened to you."

Yoruichi felt a small but strong tug in her heart.

"You don't have to take that on yourself," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "I knew what would happen if I saved you guys."

"I still should have been able to kill him," he replied, "but instead, I got distracted by hatred of Soul Society, and worse, I let him escape even after I confronted him."

"Is it really worth beating yourself up over?" she asked, "Do you really have to go this far? It's always a good thing, when you feel the need to do better, sometimes it's even good if you feel disappointed in yourself. It'll make you stronger, and drive you to strive on."

Her hand slipped down from his shoulder and wrapped around his hand.

"But I think you should ask yourself one thing, when is it too much? When is it that you should stop feeling like that and pick yourself up?"

"I never said I felt sorry for myself," he mumbled,

"No, but you were feeling sorry for yourself," said Yoruichi, "I think it's time you to pick yourself up, okay?"

Kuroda didn't respond at first, after a long pause, Yoruichi began to fear that she may have spoken a bit too much.

"When did you become so wise?" he finally managed to say,

Yoruichi couldn't help but smile a little,

"I know you probably don't want to talk," she continued, holding his hand still, "but like I always say, if you ever feel like you can, you can come to me."

Kuroda felt himself blush a bit. There it was again, that painful tugging inside of him that made itself known whenever he was close to her. He took a deep breath to see if he could perhaps send it away, but it would not go.

Together, the two of them stood up.

"Ready to go?" asked Yoruichi,

Kuroda nodded to show that he was. As he walked with her, he threw a glance back at his father's grave, certain that if the old man could see his adopted son right now, he'd be laughing till he dropped to the floor.

**End**

**Well, I hope you liked this chapter. It was my way of revealing a little more about Kuroda, of course, I haven't revealed all. No, the juiciest secrets of that man have yet to come.**

**I hope I didn't make Yoruichi seem a little OOC, since we don't see her talk all that much, I went of what is known.**

**I hope I also did a good job in showing Kuroda more as a person.**

**By the way, I'm going to go back to the chapter with Kuroda vs Yamamoto and changing the name of one of Kuroda's moves because I don't like the current one. Just FYI.**

**Also the next chapter may not come out for a bit, the only reason I managed to get out these chapters so fast was because I was on a break.**

**Thank you for reading. Please review, subscribe, favorite, etc**


	23. Chapter 23

**Hiya everyone, wow, it's amazing that I managed to get this chapter out. I've been having a hard time with life in general, sorry to those of you that felt I took too long. So, the life of Kuroda shall continue on in this next chapter. We will also get to see a little bit of my other OC's, and set up the next chapter for some serious action.**

**I don't own Bleach as always, I only own Kuroda, Rajin, Kaito, and some other stuff.**

Chapter 23

Talking with old friends

Kuroda breathed a solemn sigh and took a moment to appreciate the view from on top of the first division's roof.

The sun was shining as always, the sky was a magnificent blue and patched with a few well-placed fluffy clouds, and the sweet wind blew through his hair. It was peaceful, and boring.

Never, in his whole life, did he imagine he'd get bored because he had no one to talk to. Heck when Yoruichi had told him that they all had things to do and he'd get the day to himself, he was glad! But now, he just felt…bored, there really was no other way to say it.

He found his mind drifting as to whether or not he could find someone to do something with.

The idea of repaying Kenpachi with the fight he wanted came to mind, but he immediately dismissed it.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered,

"Life is full of ridiculous things isn't it?" said a cheerful voice,

Kuroda cringed,

'Oh no' he thought to himself, 'not him'

Kuroda turned to see his worst hope realized,

"Hello, Kuroda,"

Kuroda sighed heavily, "Hello Captain Ukitake,"

The pale, white haired man strolled casually up the roof towards Kuroda and smiled, "you know you don't need to call me that"

Kuroda made a small growl of irritation.

"How have you been?" Ukitake asked jollily,

"Fine,"

"Have you met with your mother?" he asked,

"Yeah,"

"That's good," said Ukitake, "you know, I really missed having you around. You look good."

"Thanks,"

"Though you are a bit pale, but I guess I really shouldn't be talking. After all, I have white hair," laughed Ukitake, "I hear that your daughter made 3rd seat!"

"Uh huh,"

"You must be so proud, children are such wonderful things aren't they?" said Ukitake, "so full of potential, able to grow so fast, I wish I had some."

"I bet," mumbled Kuroda,

"But how has your life in the world of the living been? Is it as good as it was over here?" he asked, "How did you make a living for yourself? How did-"

Kuroda suddenly grabbed Ukitake by the collar of his shihakusho and pulled him down so that their faces were inches apart.

"I thought I told you," Kuroda growled, "not to be so NICE!"

Even as Kuroda glared at him, the white haired Captain just smiled, albeit a bit nervously. Kuroda just sighed and released the man from his grasp.

"You haven't changed at all," he said,

"Is that a good thing?" asked Ukitake,

"I guess," he decided, after a brief and rather awkward silence, he asked, "do you wanna sit down?"

"Sure," said Ukitake, taking a seat down by his former colleague.

Kuroda took in a big breath of air, then let it out. "A lot's changed."

"Indeed," said Ukitake, "so many new ones in our ranks. Tell me, do you know if Shiniji and the others are alright?"

"They're doing just fine," replied Kuroda, "though I don't think they've forgiven Soul Society yet."

"I understand," Ukitake said, disappointment clear in his voice,

"No you don't," Kuroda said bluntly, "but I suppose I can't blame you, I expected it to take longer than a century before the Gotei 13 found out about Aizen."

"Oh, yes," said Ukitake, "I'm truly sorry about that, had I known, I would have-"

"Save it," interrupted Kuroda, "I don't need an apology from you Ukitake."

The Captain of the 13th didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"How have you been?" Kuroda asked unexpectedly, "any better?"

"Hm?"

"You sickness? Have you gotten any better?"

"Oh! Yes, I have actually," said Ukitake, "I'm having less coughing fits now and I feel a lot more energetic thanks to Unohana's medicine."

"That's good,"

"Yeah, I get out a lot more now. Though I still have to rest a lot" admitted Ukitake,

"It's better than nothing," Kuroda pointed out,

"I know, I know," said Ukitake, "still, I wish I knew what it was like to live without this sickness…oh well."

"If you didn't have that sickness, you'd become a much stronger warrior on the battlefield," replied Kuroda, "if only because you wouldn't have to worry about your coughing fits."

Ukitake smiled; that had sounded just like something Kuroda would've said a century ago. Things, had not changed. At least, he didn't think they had.

"Hey! I meeting Shunsui later, how about you come with me," offered the Captain of the 13th division,

Kuroda mulled over the idea for a very brief moment before replying, "No,"

"What? Come on, it's been over a century since the three of us sat down together and talked like friends," pleaded Ukitake, "please? For old time's sake?"

"No," he repeated,

"We'll be meeting at a nice place, there'll be sake!" tried the Captain,

"No"

"One of your division members will be there,"

This caught his attention, but again, Kuroda responded with, "No"

"We'll have cake!"

"…"

(*($)*&)($%*)$($%&)#%&(#%))#%%)#*&((#%)#%&)#)

A half an hour later, Kuroda was walking with Jushiro towards the café that he would be meeting Shunsui at.

"I can't believe you convinced me come," said Kuroda, his eyes evidently dark,

"You could have said no,"

"I did," growled Kuroda,

Jushiro just smiled and kept on leading the way.

Kuroda looked up at the café he was being dragged to, his demeanor perked up slightly when he found that he recognized the place. As to whether or not that was a good thing or a bad thing, he had yet to decide.

He sighed as he read the name of the café, "**The Happy Monkey, **how very appropriate for Shunsui."

Kuroda almost felt like he was losing a part of who he was as he stepped into the place. The air was filled with the hazy aroma of alcohol, men and women alike laughed in drunken stupor as the strong drinks served loosened their minds.

Kuroda rubbed his forehead, he wasn't opposed to alcohol, but some people just went too far with the stuff. As the Commander of the Black Ops division, he'd kept a strict rule against getting drunk. Anyone who was caught loosing themselves to alcohol was subjected to harsh "training" by himself, which usually involved him chasing the offender with a bokken.

So it was obvious that he was less then pleased with coming to a place that seemed to be specifically designed to get people drunk.

"Hello!" greeted a hostess, an attractive brunette with her hair tied up into a pony tail, "welcome to The Happy Monkey,"

"We're here with another party," said Ukitake, "My friend Shunsui should already be here."

"Ah yes, please follow me then," she said,

The hostess lead them to one of the private rooms, thankfully separate from the greater masses that reeked of alcohol. Then again, Shunsui could probably do the same just by himself.

"Here is your table" she said, showing them in,

Shunsui was already at the table, drinking away. Kuroda already saw an empty jug of sake, the Captain of the 8th seemed to be downing the last drops of its contents.

"Oh! Hello Jushiro, Kuroda!" Shunsui greeted them in a slurred singing voice.

"Pretty lady," he called to the hostess, "more for me and my friends! And get some of those nice pastries too!"

"Of course sir," said the hostess before leaving,

"Such a pretty girl," said Shunsui as Kuroda and Jushiro took their seats.

"You say that about every girl you meet," pointed out Kuroda, "even my mother."

"Oh, but it's the truth Kuroda!" whined Shunsui, "she has such nice hair, and kind personality, and very large-"

Shunsui stopped immediately when he felt the ever oppressive devil's eyes of Kuroda, the Captain of the 8th smiled nervously and sank back into his seat.

With a small cough into his hand, he said, "So, it's good to see you again."

Kuroda glared at him for a few more moments before breaking off and saying, "mm hmm."

"So," started Shunsui, tipping his hat up a bit, "how have you been Kuroda?"

"All things's considered, fine," he replied,

"Ah, I see you still lie," smiled Shunsui, "have some sake, it'll loosen you up a bit."

"No thanks," he grumbled, "you know I don't like alcohol."

"That's okay," said Shunsui, "I ordered some tea too."

As if on cue, a waitress entered their room carrying a new jug of sake and a pot of tea.

"There we go," said the waitress, placing the drinks on their table.

"Thank you very much," smiled Jushiro,

The waitress immediately blushed a bright red before quickly taking her leave.

Kuroda raised an eye brow as he poured himself a cup of tea.

"That smile is still as devastating as ever," he muttered as the waitress left,

"Awww, Jushiro!" whined Shunsui, "stop taking all the cute ones!"

Jushiro smile weirdly as he tried to console his friend.

Kuroda took a sip of his tea, and sighed. "you two really haven't changed at all."

"Well that's a good thing isn't it?" Shunsui smiled lazily, taking another shot of sake.

Kuroda snorted as he took another gulp of tea.

"How has Mei been?" asked Kuroda,

Shunsui tipped his hat up, "right to the point huh?"

"What other reason would I have for visiting you?" he pointed out, taking another sip, "I gave you the responsibility of watching over her many years ago, it only makes sense that I check up on her every now and then."

"A century is your idea of every now and then?" joked Shunsui, Kuroda rolled his eyes.

Kuroda's eyes narrowed solemnly,

"She's doing fine," Shunsui answered, "since the time you've been gone, she's improved significantly. I'd say she's at a high lieutenant level, the only reason she isn't a lieutenant is because there are no open posts."

"Then I should look in to getting rid of that fat slob at the 2nd division," decided Kuroda, "what was his name again Mare-, Mouy-, Mache-,

"Marechiyo Omaeda," answered a deep voice,

The three turned to see the last member of their get together.

A tall, dark skinned man with a Chinese style rice hat made out of metal on his bald tattooed head stood at the entry way.

His standard shihakusho was covered by a long tattered cloak, signifying him as a member of the Black Op's division.

"Teruo Nozawa,"

"Commander," responded Teruo,

"Oh, I remember you," said Jushiro, "you are…the 4th seat of Kuroda's division, correct?"

"That is correct Captain Ukitake," answered Teruo as he sat himself down next to Kuroda, "it is good to see you again Commander."

"You don't need to call me that," said Kuroda, "I'm not the Commander anymore."

"But you are still **my** Commander,"

Kuroda waved a sign that he didn't care as he handed Teruno a cup of tea.

Teruno was the 4th seat of the Black Ops Division and Kido master. Having once served in the corps under Tessai long ago, Teruno had once competed with another of the division's members, Hachi. Eventually however, Teruno was recommended to join his division, Kuroda accepted, knowing that once well versed in Kido could potentially be useful.

"How is your family?" asked Kuroda; another thing about Teruno was that he was the only one of the squad, excluding his own mother, who had raised his own family.

"They are fine," replied Teruno, "my wife has heard that you've returned and asked me to say hello to you for her and apologizes that she could not come. Her division has been in chaos ever since the incident."

Kuroda nodded, Teruno's wife was part of the 9th division under Tosen. It only made sense that the division would have more work to do ever since their Captain defected.

"Well," he said, taking another sip, "tell Mina hello for me as well."

Teruno gave a grunt before taking a sip of his own tea.

"What about you Commander?"

Kuroda shrugged his shoulders. Teruno nodded.

"Yoruichi?"

Kuroda nodded, Teruno nodded again.

"you have a new student?"

Kuroda grunted. Teruno let out a similar grunt.

Both Captains raised their eyebrows, a little bewildered that the two could communicate through a series of grunts and body language.

"Speaking of which," Jushiro said, breaking the silence, "how is Yoruichi?"

Kuroda raised a skeptical eyebrow before carefully saying, "fine."

"Are you two together yet?" Shunsui asked brashly,

Kuroda nearly lost his composure, somehow managing to crank out a very tedious, "no."

"Oh, so she's free then?"

Kuroda instantly lost interest in his tea.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well she's such a beautiful, fine young woman and my little Nanao doesn't seem to be opening up to me," he pouted, "I thought that maybe-"

"She won't take you," interrupted Kuroda,

"Eh? How do you know?"

"Because…I do," replied Kuroda,

"But-"

"She won't, take you," growled Kuroda, his eyes narrowing into a frightening glare.

Shunsui smiled awkwardly as he nodded his head, a palpable cloud of fear around him.

Jushiro smiled happily, Shunsui had played Kuroda well. Just as he was about to play his own little devious, though well meaning, part, the door opened, letting in the waitress.

"Here is the cake you ordered sirs," The waitress tiptoed in and placed the cake down on their table, along with 4 other plates, forks, and knives.

When she finished, she gave a lingering stare at Jushiro. The white haired captain gave a warm smile, the waitress predictably blushed, and almost squealed as she exited the door.

"Awww, why can't I do that?" whined Shunsui,

Kuroda ignored the man and cut himself a slice of cake, quickly eating it.

"Tell me, do you ever plan to court Yoruichi," asked Jushiro,

"Mind your own business," growled Kuroda as he ate his second slice of cake,

"Come now, it makes it easier if you talk about it," assured the Captain,

"I just like taking about romance!" added Shunsui,

Kuroda raised an eyebrow as he cut a third slice. "And I should go to two men who have been single for over 5 centuries for advice on something I clearly am not trying to do?"

"Well…uh, when you say it like that,"

"If I should be asking advice from anyone on how to woo Yoruichi, which I would never try to do, it would be Teruno," he said, waving his hand to the silent 4th seat. "Teruno, do you have any advice?"

The black man stoically shook his head.

"Well, since there is no help, I guess I won't be doing something that I wasn't even doing in the first place," decided Kuroda, going back to eating his 4th slice. Yes, 4th slice.

"You're right," said Shunsui, "we should talk about how to get me a significant other! Is your Mother available?"

Kuroda nearly broke the table. He glared hell fire at Shunsui.

"Uh…I'll take that as a no," the Captain said nervously,

Kuroda let out a sigh, and cut himself a 5th piece.

"It looks like you still have that sweet tooth," said Jushiro, noticing that half the cake was already gone.

Kuroda didn't respond, he just ate his slice of cake and ignored the jolly look on the white haired man's face.

"You know, I've got some candy," said Jushiro, reaching into his pockets, "if you'd like, I can-"

"I hate candy," muttered Kuroda, "you know that."

"Oh," realized Jushiro, "right, my bad. Memory must be failing me."

Kuroda sighed heavily. Despite everything he tried, he'd never been able to stay angry at the Captain of the 13th for very long, nor the Captain of the 8th. He'd known them almost as long as he'd known Yoruichi and Kisuke, and he'd shared just as many memorable times with them.

'I wonder what Yoruichi's doing'

(*#&*(%#)*(%&)#*%(^))#%*&#()%&*)#)

Elsewhere

'I wonder if Kuroda is thinking about me,' Yoruichi thought playfully,

"Lady Yoruichi," whispered Soi Fon to her right,

"Hm?"

"The meeting is about to start,"

"Thank you everyone, for coming to the Shinigami Women's Society weekly meeting," said Nanao as she addressed the group from the front of the room, "our President will now start the meeting, madam president"

"Okay!" yelled a voice, a pink haired little girl popped up at the podium, "is everyone ready to play?"

'That little girl is the president?' thought Yoruichi, 'this'll definitely be interesting'

"Today's topic is: Snacks!" declared Yachiru,

"Snacks?" asked Kiyone Kotetsu,

"Yup! Candy is great, but I think it's time to change things up a little," explained Yachiru, "any suggestions?"

Isane Kotetsu raised her hand bashfully, "um…how about onigiri?"

"No! It has to be sweet!"

"Ice cream?" suggested Rukia, who had managed to attend despite her wounds not yet back to full strength.

"Good suggestion but Ice cream needs to be cold, otherwise it becomes all warm and soupy," said Yachiru,

"Mochi?" suggested Nanao

"Too dry and pasty"

"Cat biscuits?" tried Soi Fon

"Ew" stuck out Yachiru's tongue

There was a brief silence before Yachiru noticed Yoruichi, "what about you Kitty?"

"Hm?" Yoruichi asked, again not really paying attention,

"What do you think we should do for our new snacks?"

"Of course, Lady Yoruichi will know the answer," realized Soi Fon,

"Hmmm….how about cake," she suggested,

"That's brilliant!" declared Yachiru, "it's official, from now on we'll have cake for our meeting snacks!"

"But, Ms. President," said Nanao, "we're out of money."

"Huh?" cried out Yachiru, "We're out of money already! All of you waste too much of our funds on stupid stuff!"

"Ms. President you're the one who spent the most!" pointed out Nanao.

Taking a moment to correct her glasses, Nanao readdressed the group, "therefore, the purpose of today's meeting is to come together and find a way to raise more money."

"How come I didn't know this?" asked Yachiru,

"Ms. President, I discussed this with you before the meeting began!" growled Nanao, adjusting her glasses again, "so, how about it, any suggestions?"

"Ooh, we could start a makeup parlor!" suggested Rangiku,

"Too expensive," said Nanao,

"How about a beauty pageant!" Rangiku suggested again,

"No,"

"Awww, why not?"

"Who would want to participate in that! Plus it's too expensive!" yelled Nanao,

"We could get jobs," suggested Isane,

"I could get Master Mayuri to build a machine to generate money," suggested Nemu,

"That's illegal!" cried Nanao,

"Really? I will inform Master Mayuri of that when I see him again, as he has already made one,"

Nanao slammed her head on her desk,

"How about calendars?" suggested Yoruichi,

"Huh?"

"Calendars," said Yoruichi, "we could take pictures of some famous people or whatever, and put them on the calendars, then sell them."

"That's a great idea!" said Nanao, "I'm so happy that Captain Soi Fon invited you here!"

"It's nothing really," said Yoruichi, bashfully rubbing the back of her head,

"Oh, you're so humble Lady Yoruichi," squealed Soi Fon,

"But, who are we gonna sell calendars of?" asked Isane,

"How about us?" suggested Rangiku, "all we have to do is show a little skin,"

As if to demonstrate she pulled her shihakusho back a bit, just enough to reveal even more of her generous bosom and perfectly shaped shoulders.

"The boy's will love them!" assured the beautiful woman,

"We're not doing that!" scolded Nanao,

"How about members of the Gotei 13?" suggested Kiyone, "I know quite a few girls would love a calendar of Captain Ukitake."

"That might do," said Nanao, "but maybe we should have something more, just in case not all of the members are alright with it."

Yoruichi gave it a quick thought before raising her hand, "I know some handsome men who would definitely draw some sales."

"Really? Who?" asked Nanao,

Yoruichi smiled.

($(%#^)%*(^)#%^*)#%)#^%)#%^))

Back at the café, Kuroda shivered.

"I feel like something bad is about to happen," he muttered,

"You always feel like that," pointed out a slightly drunk Shunsui, "what you need is the love and security only a woman could give you."

"I think I'll manage," replied Kuroda, not exactly privy to the ramblings of a Shunsui,

"Still, maybe getting married will improve your life," said Jushiro, "I've thought about it, but no one really seems that interested at the moment."

"…are you blind as well?" asked Kuroda,

"What?"

"Nothing,"

"I agree with the Captains," said Teruno stoically, "ever since my wife came into my life, I have been much happier."

"Don't agree with them," muttered Kuroda, getting more irritated by the moment, "this could possibly get any weirder."

"Kuroda!"

"I was wrong," he growled,

The door to their booth opened, and there stood Yoruichi with all her friends from the Shinigami Woman's Society.

"Cake!" squealed Yachiru, she immediately hopped to the table and began engulfing the last two slices of cake.

"Oh, hello Yachiru, hello Yoruichi," smiled Jushiro,

"She ate my cake," Kuroda observed blatantly,

"Yoruichi!" called Shunsui joyfully, "it's so wonderful to see your beautiful face again!"

He drunkenly reached out, "how's about letting me squeeze those-"

SMACK!

"Ow!"

"Please restrain yourself Captain," scolded Nanao,

"Oh Nanao, your so mean to me," he whined,

Teruno sipped his tea and remained quiet.

"What are you doing here?" asked Kuroda, though he dreaded finding out.

"We need you!" said Yoruichi,

"For?"

"A photo shoot!" said Yachiru as she bounced up and down, "cause we need money!"

Kuroda pretended to think about it before saying, "No,"

"Huh, why not?" whined Yachiru, pouting her lips,

"I am not sitting in front of a camera, striking some ridiculous pose, all so you can get a quick buck," replied Kuroda, "and before you ask, no, I will not ask Rajin or Kaito."

The entire Society looked downtrodden.

"What do we do now?" asked Isane,

"Don't worry, I've got this," assured Yoruichi,

Kuroda took a sip of tea as he ignored the whining of Yachiru, who was rolling around on the floor like a baby seal.

"Kuroda," he heard Yoruichi say,

"Yes?"

He turned, and immediately wish he hadn't. Yoruichi had cleverly pushed her self incredibly close to him and was now giving him her dreaded sad kitten eyes.

"Please?" she asked in feigned sadness,

"That's not going to work this time," he warned,

"So it's worked before?" asked Shunsui,

"Shut up!"

"Please," she asked again, pushing herself a little closer to him,

"N-no!"

"Pretty please?" she asked again, this time pushing herself against his arm and putting a bit of sensuality into her words.

"I said no!" replied Kuroda,

"But, I was gonna do something to reward you after the photo shoot," she whispered into his ear,

Kuroda couldn't help but freeze up, reward?

"I-I said…"

"Pretty please with sprinkles and a," she pressed her lips closer to his ear, "cherry on top?"

Don't say yes, Don't say yes, Don't say yes, Don't say yes

"Fine,"

God damn it!

"Yay!" squealed Yachiru, "let's go Kooky!"

"Kooky?" asked Kuroda,

"Yeah, cause your crazy," explained Yachiru, "but come on, let's go!"

Kuroda quickly glared at Yoruichi, his eyes full of "I'll get you for this"

Yoruichi just batted her eyes and gave him a wink.

(#%*)#(%*^)#(*%^)#(%^)#%(^*#)%^)#&*%()

"Commander, you know I'm loyal to you," began Kaito, "and that I'd follow you to the depths of hell if need be."

"Uh huh"

"But why on earth did you make us do this?" growled the wild haired man,

"Yoruichi asked me to," muttered Kuroda,

The Shinigami Women's association was currently converting their meeting hall into a photo shoot lab. Captain Kurotsuchi had supplied them with all the camera equipment. Though he had only created the stuff because he'd been challenged by Yachiru that he couldn't. Of course the mad scientist wouldn't let his reputation go challenged, and so he threw together some high end camera's in about half an hour.

"I'm sorry for dragging you two into this," said Kuroda,

"It's alright Commander, we both know how Yoruichi is," Rajin replied.

"Look how much Rangiku's boobs jiggle while she walks," commented Kaito as though he were looking at the most interesting thing in the world,

Rajin rubbed his forehead and sighed.

"Okay, we're ready!" called Yachiru, "who's going first."

Kuroda and Rajin looked to Kaito, who was still focusing on Rangiku's chest.

Without a word, Rajin took his cue to kick his squad mate to the awaiting arms of the Society.

"Wait, what?" he called as he stumbled over,

"Ready Kaito?" asked Rangiku as she positioned the camera,

"Uh…yeah," he said, seemingly more willing now that he knew Rangiku would be filming him.

"Okay now, time to strike a pose" she said, "give me a smile"

Kaito's lips curled up into a devilish smile, Rangiku quickly took a shot.

"Nice! Now something with your zanpaktou,"

Kaito unsheathed his blade and rested it on his shoulder, Rangiku took another shot.

"Alright! Now it's time to give the ladies what they want, take off your shirt"

"Is that really what the ladies want, or just you?" asked Kaito, raising a suggestive eyebrow,

"Both," replied Rangiku in an equally suggestive tone,

Kaito chuckled before losing his shirt, revealing his well-muscled body.

Rangiku practically drooled as she took picture after picture of the 3rd seat. Kaito himself seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the large amount of attention he was getting.

"I hope this doesn't have far reaching effects into the future," commented Kuroda as he watched the photo shoot,

"I'm afraid it probably will," replied Rajin,

"Okay, I think that's enough," said Rangiku,

"Cool," said Kaito as he put his shirt back on, "that wasn't so bad."

"Okay, next!" called Yoruichi,

Without hesitation, Kuroda quickly shoved Rajin forward. Rajin turned back and gave his commander an alarmed look, Kuroda just shrugged.

"Rajin!"

The Lieutenant whipped around,

"I'll be taking your pictures," said Soi Fon with a not too small blush on her face, "let's get started."

(#%*&)#(%^*)#(%^)#%)#*%&)(*%)#)#*(%)(#)

"Did something seem off to you?" asked Shunsui as his white haired friend took another sip of tea.

"About what?"

"Kuroda, he was…different," decided Shunsui,

"You really think so?" asked Jushiro, "you sure it wasn't just because you've drunk so much?"

"Hey now, I know how to hold my drink!" protested Shunsui, "but seriously, Kuroda seemed off. No doubt about it."

"It could just be some tension between him and Yoruichi," suggested Jushiro,

"No, that's been there since the dawn of time. This is definitely something else, something…not good," said Shunsui, rubbed his forehead, "drink must be affecting me after all."

"Shunsui,"

"Hm?"

"Remember when Kuroda fought Genryusai Sensei?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Genryusai Sensei cut off one of his seals didn't he?"

(#%(#*&)#%(^)#%)#(%&*)#(%*)#%&*(^)#)

Kuroda felt his two remaining seals through his sleeve, a small pit of anger forming at the memory of his third being cut off by that old man.

It wasn't the memory of Yamamoto cutting off the seal, he could understand that. In the midst of battle you had to press the attack, things like this could happen. No, his anger came from that…thing that cutting the seal had let loose.

Feeling what it again, squirming through his system, it was almost too much to bear.

_It's not nice to talk about people behind their back_

Why did **it** have to exist?

_You'll never be rid of me_

Was this a punishment?

_Perhaps, you and me, we've done plenty of horrible things. You still dream about it._

Now, it was in his head. Screwing with him!

_I've always been around Kuroda; after all, I'm you._

"Kuroda?"

Kuroda immediately snapped out of his thoughts and looked up to see the bright yellow eyes of Yoruichi.

"It's your turn," she said mischievously,

Kuroda put on his mask as he pushed himself off the wall he'd been leaning on "Let's get this over with."

As he walked away, Yoruichi suddenly asked, "are you okay?"

He paused in his strides. "Yeah."

Then continued on.

Though he did not see it, he could feel Yoruichi's eyes boring into the back of his head. He knew she was probably worried, which was why he was doing his best to act like he was focusing on the silly photo shoot.

Better not to get her involved.

"Alright," he said, "how should I-"

BAM!

All heads in the room, turned to the newly made hole in the wall. The very large hole, with a very large man standing in it.

"Is he here?" asked the Captain of the 11th squad, he scanned the room and found his prey. A large, wolfish smile spread across his face, "there you are!"

"Hi Kenny!" called Yachiru as she jumped up on to the big man's shoulder.

"Yachiru, why didn't you tell me you knew where he was?"

"Well, because we needed him to help us make money," she explained,

"Well, I need him right now," said the Captain as he stalked his way to Kuroda,

For a brief moment, the two of them stared at the other, both of them sizing up the one in front of them.

Without warning, Kenpachi raised his jagged blade and brought it crashing down at Kuroda with enough force to have sliced a dozen men in two.

But his opponent was not so easily caught off guard, nor was he so weak of strength.

In a flash, AnShen was out of its sheath and intercepted the Captain's nameless sword.

The two blades collided together in a contest of pure strength and power.

An incredible tempest burst out from their meeting and nearly tore the building down from just that alone.

When the dust settled and the wind died down, Kenpachi's smile grew even bigger.

"Nice," was his first word, "you blocked that attack, even though I put a lot of strength behind it and I never told you I was gonna attack."

"Wasn't hard," Kuroda shot back,

"Tch, I'm here to collect my pay Kuroda Ryou, and I want my pay now!"

Kenpachi pulled away his sword.

"Then you came at a good time," said Kuroda, a small smirk developing on his own face.

"I was just beginning to feel the need to kill something."

**End**

**A/N**

**So, there you have it. I apologize for not updating sooner and even more that next to nothing happened in this chapter. But hey, at least I set up the next one. Yes, Kuroda and Kenpachi shall do battle in the next installment of my story, it will be a battle of epic proportions!**

**Trust me!**

**Kuroda will not dominate this fight.**

**In any case, please review, they are like the food of gods for writers. Also, though it goes against everything I believe in, I may put up some sample chapters of some ideas I've been having. Just so I can get them off my chest and so I can see people's reaction.**

**That's all I really have to say.**

**Review, subscribe, favorite, do whatever.**

**Bye Bye!**


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo

Chapter 24

The Beast

Aizen sat in his new throne like a king. The magnificent, pearl white stone that it had been carved out of served to give him that feeling of great status, as did the beautiful hall that was now his throne room.

With the help of the hogyoku, Aizen had gathered together many low level hollows and converted them to Arrancar. They had become his labor force, his workers, all of them completely loyal to him.

For now, he had them building his palace of Las Noches.

He had in fact, begun this project many years ago. About the same time he'd acquired the Hogyoku. Soul Society had never even suspected.

The Main Hall that he now sat in had been constructed quickly, the construction of the rest of the palace was going well, though not as fast as he would have liked, he made a mental note to create some more workers to speed up the process.

"Lord Aizen,"

The new lord of Las Noches opened his eyes,

"Pardon the interruption, but it is time for the meeting," said Kaname Tosen,

"Of course," Aizen rose from his throne and walked calmly down the steps and towards the meeting hall, as he did, he asked, "Tosen, how are our new guests settling in?"

"The first one is finding his place, he was reluctant at first but soon accepted his position. The second we found is settling in nicely, he has no complaints and simply spends the day sleeping. The third is a bit…rebellious."

"I see, I had hoped he would have accepted my gift by now. Perhaps we shall resolve the issue with this meeting."

"Yes Lord Aizen,"

Kaname stepped forward and obediently opened the set of large double doors to the meeting hall.

"Greetings, my Espada," spoke Aizen as he entered,

Seven figures were seated at a very long and large table, filling up 7 of the 11 seats that surrounded the table. Aizen took his spot at the head of the table.

"What is the nature of this meeting Lord Aizen," growled an elderly looking Arrancar,

"I shall answer your question, Barragan, but first, let us have some tea," said Aizen,

On cue, Tosen came out with a pot of tea and poured the warm drink into the cups of each Espada.

Aizen took a long sip of his tea before saying, "Let us begin."

No sooner had he said that, then one of the arrancars slammed his fist down upon the table, knocking over everyone's cups, save Aizen's.

"You think your hot shit don't you?" growled the Arrancar.

Aizen raised an eyebrow, but his ever present smile never left.

"Is there a problem, Matheus?"

Matheus was the new Tercera Espada, a large brute of a man who seemed to be the very embodiment of anger. His long flaming red hair, golden eyes, and constant scowl all served to potray him as a very unhappy person. Not only that, but his mask fragment, what would have been an eye socket, seemed to pull back his eye lids, making his right eye look blood shot.

"Your damn right there's a problem! Why the hell are we here?"

"I thought that was explained to you," Aizen said calmly, "I am gathering Hollows for an army, an army with which to crush Soul Society."

"No one asked you to come in here and build this stupid palace or gather some army. We were all doing fine on our own before you came, and we'll do fine without you!"

"Indeed, running from Shinigami, you were doing very well."

"And, how can we trust you. You're a shinigami too! We should be kicking your ass, not taking orders from it!"

Aizen remained silent, which only served to anger Matheus even more.

"Barragan! How can you stand this? I might not have acknowledged you as King, but I knew you were strong! What happened!"

"Do not attempt to call on me for support," was the elderly Segunda only response,

"Starkk! What about you? Are you alright with this?"

"Honestly? I'm just fine with it," replied the Primera

"Ulquiorra! Don't tell me you're in Aizen's pocket too!"

"I follow Lord Aizen," the Cuatro said in a monotone voice

"Nnoitra! What about you!"

"Don't drag me down with you," snarled the Sexta

"Aaroniero!"

"We follow **Lord Aizen"** spoke the Decimo Espada

"Szayel?"

"Don't try and get me involved," replied the Noveno

"Your all a bunch of fucking idiots!" screamed Matheus, he turned his gaze to Aizen, "your no leader of mine, your just a-"

"Shinigami?" finished a new voice,

Everyone turned to the door to see a newcomer walk in,

He was a tall man, one who seemed to ooze confidence, power and strength. He had a strong jawline, a relatively youthful face, in the human world he'd be considered somewhere in his mid to late twenties.

A thick, dark purple line crossed down his face, over his red right eye. His dark purple hair was peculiar in its style; one side seemed to be shaved down, while the other side was long and reached just barely passed his ears, covering his left eye entirely.

The last remnant of his mask was a pair of two horns, both on the hairless side of his head with one being in front of the other. Each was as long as a man's hand and stretched backwards, giving him an almost animalistic look.

"Tyran, so good of you to join us," said Aizen,

"Sorry Lord Aizen, had to track down that hollow you wanted, took me a while, but I found her," said Tyran, his pride evident.

"Who the fuck is this guy?" growled Matheus,

"Ah yes, none of you have met Tyran have you?"

"I have," muttered Barragan, who refused to face the newcomer,

"What's the matter Barragan? Still sore from your getting your assed kicked?"

Barragan remained silent.

Tyran let out a small chuckled as he walked towards the table, all the time his eyes were locked upon Matheus.

"This guy giving you trouble Lord Aizen?"

"It is of no concern Tyran," replied Aizen,

"He looks like a punk, a weak one,"

"Why you-"

"Now Tyran, you need not bring your comrades weaknesses to their face. Even if they are true," said Aizen,

Matheus finally lost it. In a flash his sword was out of its sheath, half a second later it was in mid swing towards Aizen's neck.

Matheus felt a rising sense of power as he watched his blade tear towards Aizen's exposed neck. That feeling was quickly killed when his assault was brought to an abrupt halt.

"That's not a wise thing to do," said Tyran as he held back Matheus's blade with a single finger.

Matheus, true to his anger, tried to press forward. To his credit, he managed to gain a single centimeter.

"What's the matter, I was told you were pretty strong, almost enough to be on par with Barragan. But all I feel is a child pressing against me."

Matheus gritted his teeth, "you bastard!"

"Heh" Tyran raised a single finger and jabbed Matheus's forehead.

Without warning, the Trecera was sent tumbling away, eventually smashing into the wall clear across the other side of the room.

"Son of a bitch!" roared Matheus as he pushed himself out from the rubble. He brought up the full weight of his reiatsu, but Tyran didn't even seem to notice.

Instead, the Arrancar turned his head to Aizen. The shinigami nodded his head, Tyran smiled.

Without a word, Tyran dashed off to meet Matheus.

The Matheus raised his blade and slammed it down against the palm of Tyran's hand. No effect.

"I won't eat your soul, like I do all my other victims," announced Tyran, "you're too weak for that."

Matheus pulled back his katana and swung it in a vicious flurry, all of which Tyran avoided.

"I'll let your body rot in the sands of Hueco Mundo, for the scavengers to pick apart,"

Matheus swung, Tyran dodged.

"The sands will grate away your bones into nothing!"

Tyran struck out again and again, each time missing his mark.

"You will be lost to time, forever!"

"You'll have to kill me first!" roared Matheus as he brought down an overhead smash,

Tyran easily caught the blade; his lips formed a blood thirsty grin as he began to push back. Despite resistance, Matheus found his hand being forced up.

Out came Tyran's other hand; it grabbed Matheus's wrist and twisted. There was a sickening snap, Matheus screamed in pain. But he was soon silenced as Tyran drove the tip of Matheus's own sword through the Arrancar's neck.

Matheus gurgled on his own blood before his eyes rolled up into the back of his head, and his body went limp.

The Trecera fell to the ground, a pool of his own blood beginning to form.

Tyran let out a low chuckle.

(*(&#%(*#%^(#%*^)&#%)#*%&)#%&#_)#%&^()#%^))#%&))

"This is pretty impressive," commented Kuroda,

After Kenpachi had saved him from the photo shoot, the Captain of the 11th had taken Kuroda to the 11th division training grounds. Which happened to be much larger than any other division's, that made sense, as this division was a battle dedicated one.

"Glad you think so," said Kenpachi, his zanpaktou already out "but I didn't bring you here for a tour, I came here to fight!"

"Of course," replied Kuroda as he drew AnShen, "I will allow you to make the first move."

Kenpachi let out an amused scoff.

Off to the side, 3rd seat Ikkaku, and 5th seat Yumichika waited eagerly.

"Letting the Captain take the first move? That's dangerous," commented Yumichika,

"He'll regret it soon enough," replied Ikkaku,

The Captain of the 11th burst off his right foot, propelling right up to Kuroda in the blink of an eye, with a murderous glint in his eye, he brought his blade down.

Kuroda side stepped, leapt forward while reversing his grip on AnShen, and brought his sword up.

By the time Kenpachi felt his blade hit the ground, Kuroda thrust AnShen's tip backwards.

But this time, it would be Kuroda who would be caught off guard.

The Kenpachi, despite his great size, swiftly whipped around and batted away the thrust, directing it into the ground.

Kuroda's eyes widened, nearly missing getting his throat cut as Kenpachi brought back his blade for a wide horizontal slash.

Kuroda managed to duck, then struck AnShen upwards, Kenpachi took a single step back and let the blade miss him entirely.

With his smile growing larger, he brought his sword down with all his strength. The result was a huge explosion of rock and dust, their two observers were forced to shield their eyes.

When the dust finally cleared, Kenpachi turned to see Kuroda, completely unharmed.

His smile grew.

"Good, you dodged. It would have been a real buzz kill if you'd died just like that," he said,

Kuroda narrowed his eyes as he replayed the events in his head. He'd timed everything perfectly, by all rights the Kenpachi should have been skewered. But it would seem that Kuroda underestimated the man, he was much faster then he'd given him credit for.

Without a word, he raised AnShen to the ready.

Kenpachi mirrored his movement.

Together, they sprung forth.

The two combatants clashed in the middle of the courtyard, their swords grinding against one another.

Kenpachi was the first to break.

Eager to hack away as much as he could, he pushed Kuroda's blade out of the way and began to chop furiously.

Kuroda side stepped the first attack, Kenpachi swung his blade back at him, Kuroda brought up his blade and parried.

Their swords locked together again and Kenpachi let out a feral growl, with a heave of his arm, he pushed against Kuroda's defense, actually flinging him a good six feet away.

'He's got strength too' Kuroda thought as he touched back down. As Kenpachi charged him again, Kuroda pivoted off his right foot, pushing him in an arc through the air, pushing him enough for him to dodge Kenpachi's charge, but also enough to leave him within striking distance of his opponent.

With his the man's back to him, Kuroda struck out to smote Kenpachi down his back. But again, Kuroda would be surprised as the Captain suddenly brought his jagged blade over his shoulder, stopping Kuroda's attack cold.

Kuroda landed back onto the ground and quickly took the initiative, he struck out again with full force. Kenpachi's blade was up again, easily blocking the attack but was sent skidding back from the strength behind the strike.

"Yeah, this is getting fun!" said Kenpachi,

Like a raving lunatic he jumped back at Kuroda and let loose his battle rage. With impressive speed and accuracy he swung madly at Kuroda who was forced to block all of his strikes.

Finding a small break in the man's rhythm, Kuroda jumped back. The strike missed but unexpectedly sent a powerful shock wave through the ground, throwing up dust like some sort of burrowing animal and slamming into the wall with enough force to break it down.

Oddly enough, it was the same wall that Ikkaku and Yumichika had been sitting on.

Thankfully, they managed to emerge from the rubble relatively unharmed.

"The Captain's really letting loose," Ikkaku managed to say,

"My HAIR!" screamed Yumichika,

"Pretty good, pretty good," said Kenpachi,

Kuroda remained silent,

"That was a good warm up, but now it's time to fight for real,"

Kuroda again remained silent, but to the best trained eyes, they would have seen a slight flicker in his expression. Eyes, like Kenpachi's.

"Yeah, that's right. Don't think I haven't noticed, you've been holding back the whole time," said Kenpachi, "but I didn't come here to fight you at half strength. I came to fight you at full! So you better give me that, or you'll end up dead!"

Kuroda gave a snort before releasing his full reiatsu.

Kenpachi responded similarly by letting his own reiatsu run loose.

The awful howls of Kuroda's reiatsu began to fill the air, but they seemed to have no effect on the Captain of the 11th.

Kuroda lifted his blade and whispered, **"Unleash Chaos: AnShen"**

His katana was suddenly wrapped in his bloody souls, when they disapaited, the red blade of AnShen was now in Kuroda's hands.

His fingers curled around the familiar black handle.

"Let's go," he whispered,

No longer would he underestimate Kenpachi.

"**Shibou Ryuu!"**

Kuroda swung his sword and let loose his attack. The gnashing teeth of the triangle shaped head mashed together in anticipation as it smashed into Kenpachi's blade.

The Captain's eyes were wide with happiness as he pushed back against the demon his opponent had let loose on him. With a mighty shove, he sliced his blade through the attack, not even bothering to stop as it exploded right in front of him.

He simply charged through the smoke with a few minor burns, his sword hungry for blood.

Kuroda met him head on.

Together they swung at each other.

Their blades collided, grinding against each other as they followed through. Both combatants swung back, their swords locking for a brief second, before Kenpachi shoved Kuroda away.

The ex-commander came back, jumping into the air with AnShen held high above him. Kenpachi side stepped the attack then came back with his own over had chop.

Kuroda parried the attack and shot out his foot, catching the larger man in the gut. But it was like kicking against a solid wall, all it did was send Kenpachi back a few steps.

Kuroda jumped at the man again, this time sending himself into a spiral while striking out with AnShen. The Captain raised his defense and successfully blocked each time Kuroda's blade whipped out at him from the deadly tornado.

Suddenly, Kuroda's blade came out again, but this time, it simply stopped itself on Kenpachi's katana. Kuroda used his opponent's sword as a balance, he pushed his sword off of it, thus spinning himself in the opposite direction.

Out came his foot, delivering a swift heel to Kenpachi's chin.

This time, Kenpachi was knocked away.

Kuroda landed back on his feet, not taking any chances he charged his enemy.

"**Shino Kabe!"**

Kuroda swung out AnShen and let loose a wave of souls, their wails filling the air as they engulfed the Captain of the 11th.

After a brief second, the wave suddenly split, and out came Kenpachi, the attack detonating behind him.

"That was really something else," said Kenpachi as he rubbed his jaw, "you got me pretty good there"

Kuroda was again silent.

"Something on your mind?" asked Kenpachi,

"I think I see now," said Kuroda,

"Huh? See what?"

"Why this fight has lasted as long as it has," explained Kuroda, "I observed you when you fought Ichigo. Back then I believed you a slow brute whose only redeeming factor was his brute strength. Then when I fight you, your speed increases dramatically and your blocking is much more precise. I think I see it now."

"See what? Out with it already"

"You scale your power,"

Kenpachi frowned,

"You purposefully let loose and hold back dependent on your opponent. When you fought Ichigo, you held back a tremendous amount of power in order to prevent him from dying out right and so you could prolong the fight for a long as possible."

Kenpachi smiled,

"So what? You got a problem with that?"

"No, just surprised you more than just a brute," replied Kuroda,

"Heh," Kenpachi sprung forward,

"**Shino Tama,"**

Kuroda swung his sword furiously, each strike leaving behind a trail of power until there were at least a dozen of them.

Kenpachi struck out at his target.

One of the trails immediately sprung up, blocking the blade. A second later, it exploded.

Kenpachi was sent reeling.

Out of the smoke another three rushed at him.

He batted away the first and second, then caught the third and tossed it away.

Kuroda jumped out of the smoke and into the air.

Kenpachi jumped up after him, laughing the entire time.

The ex-commander sent his swarm of attackers at the incoming man. Much to his surprise, Kenpachi brushed them all away with a single burst of his reiatsu.

The Captain was now upon him.

Kuroda quickly raised AnShen, Kenpachi smashed down upon his blade.

The Captain smiled as he watched his opponent spiral down towards the ground, crashing into the pavement and digging a dozen meter trench across the landscape.

Down came the Kenpachi, sword ready to dig through flesh.

Kuroda leapt to his feet,

"**Shibou Ryuu!"**

He unleashed a black demon upon his opponent, it's arrow like head slammed into the Captain's sword, stopping him in midair.

"Out of the way!" he roared,

His sword sunk into the demon, soon splitting it in half.

But no sooner had he dealt with that problem, then did he realize Kuroda had shunpo'd behind him.

The Kenpachi whipped around in an effort to block, but it was too late. AnShen drank hungrily as it's razor sharp blade dug through the Captain's shoulder and into his pectoral muscle. Then, to add on to it, Kuroda followed by bringing his blade up and commanding,

"**Shino!"**

Kenpachi's eyes widened,

"**Kabe!"**

A massive wave of souls smashed into the Captain, driving him down towards the ground and crushing him beneath its power.

As Kuroda landed back on the ground, he hoped he had not killed the Captain. It'd take a lot of explaining on his part.

He walked cautiously towards the smoking crater.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Kuroda's eyes widened, quickly he jumped back, just in time to miss being cut in half, right down the middle.

A massive fissure was suddenly carved into the ground, just a meter from Kuroda.

Kenpachi burst out from the smoke, his body burned and battered, his uniform torn up with the entire left side of his shihakusho missing, but having fun nonetheless.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" he roared as he charged,

'This guy's insane!'

Kenpachi slammed his sword down at Kuroda, the black haired man raised his sword, struggling for every inch against his opponent.

He shoved Kenpachi's sword away and sliced AnShen across the man's belly.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Kenpachi struck out, Kuroda backed away too slow. The tip of the blade cut a line up his cheek.

The Captain of the 11th kept at it, driving at Kuroda like there was no tomorrow. Swinging with such speed, precision and ferocity that Kuroda felt himself backing up every minute.

Kenpachi swung out in a wide arc, Kuroda ducked only to find his opponent's foot slammed into his face.

The force of the blow sent him tumbling back.

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

Kuroda pushed himself back up to his feet, his forehead now bleeding. Still dazed from being kicked in the face, Kuroda barely registered in time, the tip of the katana that was going to pierce his head. He quickly moved away, instead letting it saw through his left shoulder.

Returning injury for injury, he thrust out AnShen and drove it deep into Kenpachi's gut. The man stumbled back but continued to wear that insane smile on his face, despite being injured badly and breathing heavily.

Kuroda realized that he'd have to push harder if he wanted even a hope of bringing down this wild beast.

Bringing his great speed to bare, he Shunpo'd in and out of existence, dancing around the bigger man like a bird around a tree.

"You are surprisingly fast," said Kuroda as he continued to run, "but let's see how fast that speed takes you."

Kuroda suddenly burst out from the dozens of after images, striking at the Captain's right shoulder. With impressive reflexes, Kenpachi parried the attack and forced Kuroda away.

A moment later and the exile was already striking on the left side, again Kenpachi blocked himself from harm.

Kuroda whispered out of existence, only to come roaring back as he slipped past the man's defenses and slashed AnShen across the small of the Kenpachi's back.

The Captain laughed and whipped around, slicing down at his attacker.

Kuroda quickly shunpo'd away, allowing himself to witness from afar the absolute power of Kenpachi's strike, giant pieces of ruble and clouds of dust scattered across the field.

Without warning, Kenpachi burst from the cloud with incredible speed. Before Kuroda could do anything, Kenpachi's face was just inches from his own.

Out came his jagged blade. Kuroda shunpo'd a retreat.

Another crater decorated the battle ground.

Just as Kuroda thought he'd made it to safety, the man was upon him again.

The exile was suddenly forced to be on the run, each time he managed to escape, Kenpachi was just a few steps behind.

'He's actually keeping pace with me!' Kuroda realized,

Knowing that he couldn't run forever, Kuroda decided to switch to the offensive.

Shunpoing to retreat one last time, he waited for his opponent to appear. True to form, Kenpachi was there within seconds, blade already ready for swing.

Kuroda quickly shunpo'd once more, this time, towards Kenpachi. Caught off guard, his opponent could do nothing as AnShen slipped through his ribs and tore into the meaty flesh.

He felt Kenpachi convulse, a second later the man coughed up blood.

But this was the Kenpachi. The only man to ever achieve Captaincy without even knowing his zanpaktou's name. The one who took on both Kaname Tosen and Sajin Komamura and won.

A hand gripped AnShen's blade, Kuroda's eyes widened.

"My turn!"

The Captain of the 11th ripped the blade from his flesh, first pushing Kuroda back, then pulling in. Kenpachi's blade hungered for blood as he thrust it forth.

So Kuroda did the only thing he could do, he let go of AnShen.

With himself free from Kenpachi's grip, Kuroda twisted away from the man's deadly blade.

Taking the opportunity presented to him, Kuroda ducked under the Captain's arm while spinning himself and jammed his elbow into the Kepachi's gut.

Unfortunately, he probably felt as much pain as he caused. The man truly was a walking brick wall.

As Kuroda tried to dance away from Kenpachi's reach so that he may plan his next move, felt a sudden jab of pain slice through his right side.

He looked down to see the jagged blade of his opponent sawing it's way through his skin as he helped it by attempting to retreat.

Kuroda shunpo'd away as blood dripped from his new wound.

"Nice moves," complimented Kenpachi,

"I'd let go of my sword if I were you," advised Kuroda,

"Huh? Why's that?" asked the Captain, it was then that the tall man began to feel a strange sensation in his left palm. He looked down to see smoke rising from the hand that he used to hold Kuroda's sword.

He let it fall to the ground then brought up his hand to his face, much to his surprise, his palm had been badly burned.

"AnShen doesn't like to be touched by anyone else, but me," explained Kuroda,

"Tch" spat the Kenpachi, with a flick of his own zanpaktou, he flung AnShen into the air. Kuroda reached up and caught the red blade.

Taking in a deep breath, he charged.

Again the two collided, but this time Kuroda would find himself in much trouble. Kenpachi's hand came up and grabbed Kuroda by the collar of his shirt, using his great strength he lifted Kuroda up and over his shoulder, slamming him down into the ground.

Spikes of pain shot up through his back but Kuroda called upon his training to ignore it. He had much more pressing matters, like Kenpachi's sword coming down at him.

Quickly, Kuroda rolled himself out of the way of the dangerous blade, letting it sink down right beside him. Kenpachi raised it back up and brought the tip back down again, and again, and again. Kuroda was forced to keep rolling out of the way of that damnable sword.

As he rolled again, Kuroda struck out with his sword,

"**Shino Kabe"**

A massive wave suddenly burst out from his sword, there was no time for his opponent to react, it collided with Kenpachi in full.

The tall man was shoved away by the massive wave. Kuroda breathed a sigh of relief as he sat up.

His relief, was short lived. Despite taking the attack at point blank, Kenpachi emerged from the smoke standing, his grin even larger, if that was even possible.

"HAHA! This is great," declared Kenpachi, "I can't remember the last time I've had this much fun. Your every bit as strong as I thought you'd be,"

Kuroda stood up with some effort. He had to be honest with himself. He wasn't in the best of shape. His left shoulder was bleeding, as well as his forehead, and his arms had begun to ache from the sheer force that Kenpachi managed to muster behind his attacks.

Then there was the huge surprise in Kenpachi's skill. He truly hadn't though that Kenpachi could do so well. The Captain of the 11th had everything a warrior needed, strength, speed, endurance, numbness to pain, lust for the fight, and no fear of death. Yes, Kenpachi had everything, except a need to avoid injury, that seemed to be his one flaw, but it seemed like such a small one all things considered.

"I haven't let loose like this in a really long time," said Kenpachi as though he were engaging in the most pleasurable thing in the world, "time to step it up."

Uh oh

Kenpachi reached for his eye patch, and tore it off.

In the days to come, Kuroda would tell of his fight with Kenpachi Zaraki many times over. Every time, he would describe the Kenpachi's reiatsu with just a hint of awe. He would describe it, as an ocean, barely held back by a leaking dam. When the eye patch came off, the dam burst, and the ocean flooded it's contents into the world.

Yes, a flood; that was the appropriate word for Kenpachi.

An enormous flood of reiatsu surged out from Kenpachi, bathing the entire world in an ominous golden light.

Kuroda remained steadfast, unwilling to turn away from the beast that stood before him.

"Put up a good fight and give it your all" said Kenpachi, "cause I won't hold back any more."

In the blink of an eye, Kenpachi was upon him. Kuroda threw up his sword, the Captain swung down.

Never before had Kuroda felt such raw strength as he did when Kenpachi's blade smashed into AnShen. He almost immediately buckled under the man's attack, almost falling to his knees.

With a growl of defiance, Kuroda shoved back, temporarily pushing Kenpachi's sword aside. Quick as he could, he brought AnShen back, slicing it's tip across the Captain's stomach.

But that did little to stop his opponent.

Kenpachi just came back at him, completely ignoring his new wound. That insane smile was all Kuroda saw as he jumped away to avoid the Captain's strike.

Kuroda swung AnShen, Kenpachi swung his nameless blade. The two forces slammed into each other, sending out a shower of sparks and an incredible shockwave that tore through the ground beneath them.

But it was Kuroda who was forced to step back.

Hoping to keep his opponent on the defensive, the ex-commander steadied himself and jumped into the air, AnShen held high.

Kenpachi growled with delight. Kuroda swung down at him, Kenpachi swung back.

The impact was tremendous, but again, Kuroda was the one that was forced back. The force of the collision sent him somersaulting backwards.

When he returned his attention to his opponent, he saw that Kenpachi's blade was already in swing.

AnShen was there, stopping the nameless blade from lopping off his head. But for the third time, Kuroda was pushed back, his feet dragging through the ground as the force of the attack carried him through.

Their blades still grinding against each other, Kuroda jumped into the air, letting Kenpachi's blade swish through the air.

As he hung above the ground, Kuroda thrust out his sword in an attempt to pierce the Captain's eye. But Kenpachi simply moved his neck and let the red blade slice along his cheek.

In an incredible display of speed, the Captain of the 11th shot out with his hand and grabbed the exile by the collar of his shirt, then slammed him into the ground.

Kuroda felt something inside him rupture and tasted blood in his mouth. His eyes opened and saw the jagged point of Kenpachi's blade coming down at him.

He quickly rolled out of the way, letting the blade sink into the ground. Kuroda spotted an opportunity. Thinking with his feet, he kicked out his foot against the Captain's hand, smacking it away from his blade. Then kicked the man's feet from under him.

The Captain of the 11th fell to the floor with a mighty thud. Kuroda was on his feet, but instead of driving his blade into the fallen man, he jumped away and shouted,

"**Shibou Ryuu!"**

Swinging his blade, out came the demon beast. It's head dove down at the weaponless Kenpachi, no sooner had the man pushed himself back up, when the beast slammed into him and exploded with enough power to level a three story building.

Kuroda, for a brief moment, believed he had won.

Until that is, Kenpachi began to laugh again.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Bright golden light burst out from the smoke as Kenpachi emerged, badly burned and wounded but still hungry for battle.

'I'm not going to win this battle at my current power,' Kuroda thought to himself, 'perhaps I should take off the second seal.'

'Wait, no! What am I thinking, I can't do that! But, maybe just this once? No, there has to be another way.'

Kenpachi leapt into the air, too fast.

Kuroda raised AnShen, too slow.

Pain exploded out from his chest as Kenpachi dragged his jagged sword down from Kuroda's collar bone to his stomach.

The exile fell to the ground in a heap.

Kenpachi landed, his grin still large.

"Done?" he asked, a small ting of worry that the fight was over,

He walked over to Kuroda's still form, experimentally he tried jabbing the man with the tip of his blade.

A hand shot out and grabbed it.

Kenpachi's eyes widened.

Kuroda lifted his head and gave Kenpachi a look at his new eyes.

"Not even close!" he growled, he hadn't taken off the second band, the other one had. Not that it made much of a difference, after all, they were one in the same.

Without warning, Kenpachi found himself flung back a dozen meters.

"HAHA!" Kuroda laughed his own demonic laughter as he charged Kenpachi like a frenzied boar.

"HA! You still got some fight!"

Kenpachi met the charge head on.

The two maniacs slammed into each other, their blades locked in a furious and insane struggle as they glared into each other's crazed eyes, both grinning with a lust for blood.

The change was not lost on Kenpachi, he just didn't care.

The two of the slashed at each other like berserkers, blood splattered the ground beneath them. Kuroda weaved through Kenpachi's attacks with incredibly agility, but each mark he laid on the large man's body was ignored.

Not that he cared; he just wanted to cut something.

Kenpachi thrust his blade. Kuroda dodged under, grabbed the man by the wrist, pulled himself up and delivered a high kick to the Captain's chin, then slashed down AnShen, drawing a bloody line down the man's left pectoral.

Kenpachi shrugged it off and punched his fist into Kuroda's stomach, blasting the man across the floor.

But he too shrugged it off despite the pain he felt, he continued to grin.

"**Shino Kabe!"**

Kuroda swung AnShen in an arc and let loose another massive wave of reiatsu. The suffering souls depicted in it closed in on Kenpachi.

With a single slash, he broke through the attack, slicing it right down the middle.

Kuroda was there, bursting through it's broken seams.

Slicing across Kenpachi's gut, but the Captain parried the attack and punched his opponent in the face, literally spinning Kuroda around.

Seeing his chance, Kenpachi smote the man heavily down the back. Blood exploded onto the ground.

The exile stumbled away, but quickly whipped around, still smiling.

Kenpachi dashed in to get another strike, but as his word cleaved towards flesh, Kuroda vanished.

"Watch your back!"

Blood exploded from the Captain's back as Kuroda reappeared and smote him heavily.

Kenpachi swiveled around and lashed out, but Kuroda was already gone again.

This time, Kuroda reappeared above with AnShen pointed down. The exile laughed maniacally as he dropped down upon his prey.

Kenpachi just laughed as he countered by thrusting up his own sword, the two amazingly collided tip to tip, actually managing to hold Kuroda up in the air.

Kuroda let out a snort as he pushed himself off, throwing himself far away. As soon as he landed he commanded,

"**Shino Kabe!"**

Another powerful wave of reiatsu and souls was unleashed upon his enemy. Kenpachi roared with joy as he met the challenge head on.

Striking at the wave with his blade, he could not help but simply laugh at the top of his lungs.

"**Shino Kabe!"**

From the corner of his eye, Kenpachi was another wave coming up from behind. He'd be trapped between the two and crushed. In his mind, he tipped his hat to such a clever maneuver.

Kuroda for his part, watched happily as his two pronged attack took effect and trapped the Kenpachi between the two waves.

The feeling of victory was abruptly cut short. From the middle of the two waves, a spark of gold crept out. Then another spark, and another, until finally a massive pillar of golden reiatsu shot out from the mass of red, completely evaporating the attack.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" laughed Kenpachi as he stepped out,

For just an instant, Kuroda found himself in disbelief. Only instant.

"Heh," he chuckled, regaining his composure and licking his lips, "you're fun."

Yes, he was having fun despite his current condition.

By now he'd taken a huge beating. He'd been wounded down his chest, across his forehead, through his left shoulder, and up his abdomen. Not to mention his clothes were getting ripped to pieces. The entire right side of his shirt was gone, and the left side wasn't looking much better.

"Right back at you, this is the most fun I've had in a long time!" agreed Kenpachi,

The Captain of the 11th looked like he'd gone through a meat grinder. Deep cuts decorated his entire frame, the upper half of his uniform had been torn off, and burns seared all over his body.

"Come on then, one more round!" demanded Kenpachi,

Kuroda's grin grew.

Holding up AnShen, he poured massive amounts of his reiatsu into the red blade, the very ground beneath him began to crack under the pure amount of power.

Across from him, Kenpachi did the same. His golden reiatsu oozing out and tearing through the floor as it took on the frightening shape of a skull.

On cue, the two charged, their blades hungry to tear into each other, their masters equally so.

"TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

The two combatants stopped, their zanpaktou just inches from each other.

The two of them scowled, neither happy about getting interrupted. Seriously, what a buzz kill.

The two of them turned to see a figure holding a whistle.

"Excuse me gentlemen, but could you please cease your activities?"

"Unohana?" asked Kenpachi,

"Yes, please, I think you two have had enough exercise for today," the Captain of the 4th said sweetly,

"What the hell!" growled Kuroda, "we were about to be finished! I was gonna cut him in half! I was in the zone, then you come out with that damn whistle and-"

"TWEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Ah! Jeez woman! Will you stop that-"

Unohana suddenly grabbed Kuroda's arm,

"What are you-"

Unohana slapped the sealing band back on.

Kuroda jerked, then slumped to the ground.

"Rajin, if you would," said Unohana,

Out of nowhere, Rajin appeared in front of them. He bent down and tossed the Commander upon his shoulder.

"I'll take him back to your barracks," said Rajin,

"Please do," said Unohana with a smile,

She then turned back to Kenpachi, "you should come too."

"I'm fine," muttered the tall man, still sore about having the fight interrupted,

"I insist, if you don't get some attention soon, you'll probably bleed out," she said in a creepily happy tone,

"Tch," Kenpachi followed.

(&%(*%#*%^)#)%)(#%&*)_#%*Y)#*%)#)#%&)_

"Yeesh, I haven't seen the someone do this much damage to the Commander since Captain Commander Yamamoto," said Keiji as he looked at the badly damaged body of his leader,

"So, a couple of days ago?" asked Kaito,

"Yeah, pretty much,"

Members of the 4th division placed Kuroda onto a hospital bed and wheeled him into his own room. Kenpachi, who had not yet fainted, followed Unohana into his room to receive treatment.

Rajin joined his fellow shinigami in the waiting room, opting to sitting down next to Keiji,

"Is the Commander going to be okay?" asked Keiji,

"He will be fine," answered Rajin, "Captain Unohana said that she has seen worse and will begin immediate emergency attention on him."

"Yeah, besides," said Kaito, "it'll take a lot more to kill the Commander,"

"WHERE IS HE!"

A storm of purple hair suddenly stomped through the waiting room,

"Would that do it?" asked Keiji,

"…probably," replied Kaito,

**End**

**A/N**

**So, there you have it. The battle between Kenpachi and Kuroda, I had a lot of fun writing this one. If you're wondering how I got a chapter out so soon, it's because I'm currently on Mid-winter break.**

**If you haven't guessed, Kenpachi is one of my favorite characters. I always wanted to do a fight between crazy Kuroda and Kenpachi, who is also crazy.**

**Anyway, please review, subscribe, and share with your friends.**

**Because sharing is caring**

**Wow, that sounded really…ugh.**

**Well, I have to go work on my project.**

**Bye Bye!**

**Omake**

"**Nnoitra," said Tyran,**

**The Septima stopped in his tracks.**

"**Where's Neliel?" asked the unranked Arrancar,**

"**How the fuck should I know?" growled the tall Espada,**

"**I figured you'd know, since you seem to be around her the most, trying to kill her and all."**

"**Not trying! I could kill that bitch any time I wanted to!" snapped Nnoitra,**

"**Really? So you went through with it?"**

**There was a pause as Nnoitra hesitated, "I don't know what you're talking about."**

"**Of course," smiled Tyran, "just remember who's top dog."**

**Nnoitra scowled,**

"**Well, I'm off, gotta find that Vasto Lorde and her Three Adjucha's, Aizen's eager to add them to the army."**


	25. Chapter 25

**So, I hope you enjoyed that last chapter. I certainly did, but that's mostly because I can envision my own work, like literally, I can see it all play out in my mind. I have a super mind that is incredibly creative but does not wish to help me with math. Which is weird. Because I am Chinese. TAKE THAT SOCIETY STERYOTYPES! Anyway, enjoy this little chapter of awkwardness, angst, comfort, and other stuff.**

Chapter 25

You are supposed to be quiet in a hospital, or is that a library? In anycase, it was definitely not quiet in the 4th division barracks.

Just look at Rajin, Kaito and Keiji, they were forced to cover their ears.

"What do you mean I can't go in and see him!" screamed Yoruichi,

"She has quite a pair of lungs," muttered Kaito,

"I'm sorry," said Captain Unohana in her sweetest voice, "but Kuroda is undergoing emergency medical care, it must not be disturbed if he is to live."

"He'll be fine, but I need to get in there and give him a piece of my mind!" growled the purple haired woman,

"I'm sorry," repeated Unohana, "but the procedure will take a while and after that, he'll need to rest at least a week."

Yoruichi raised an eyebrow and frowned,

"He seems fine to me,"

Unohana's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, she turned around to see Kuroda standing right outside the door. Besides the fact that he was covered from head to toe with bandages, he seemed relatively nonchalant and healthy.

"Hey," he quipped,

"You!" growled Yoruichi, pushing past the Captain of the 4th, "you've got a lot of nerve blowing me off like-"

"Gentlemen, please take Kuroda back to his room," ordered Unohana,

A second later, Kaito and Keiji grabbed Kuroda by the arms and dragged him back through the double doors while the exile roared for them to let him go.

"That aside," said Unohana, "he is badly injured, and is in need of rest. I'm afraid you're going to have to wait for some time before you can see him."

Yoruichi was clearly not happy but in the end conceded and opted for sitting in the waiting room.

"Stupid men," she muttered,

"I take offense to that," said Rajin, who sat right next to her, "though I fail to understand what the Commander has done that has offended you so much."

"I can't just be made because he nearly got himself unnecessarily killed?" she asked, then added, "again"

"I'm pretty sure you came to terms with the fact that he came to brush with death on a daily basis a long time ago,"

"You make it sound like we're married," she joked,

It was then that Kaito and Keiji came back through the doors, both looking rather roughed up.

"Make a note, never put the Commander in a head lock. He'll….ugh," groaned Kaito as he slumped down into his seat.

"Also don't try to sweep his feet," added Keiji, falling down next to the 3rd seat "he's got that one figured out too."

"Can I go in and see him now?" asked Yoruichi,

"Captain Unohana said to give it another hour, then you can go in and shout at him as much as you like," answered Kaito, rubbing his sore jaw, "do you think they've got some ice around here?"

"That bad huh?" asked Rajin,

"Let me just put it this way, the only reason we got him under control, is because he fainted from blood loss," replied Kaito,

"Plus, five other squad member now need medical attention," added Keiji, "I never knew the Commander hated hospitals so much."

"He doesn't," said Rajin, "what he hates is being restrained."

($#$%^&*%^#$#()#*%&#)^)#%^)#(#&%)#^%)#*%^)#^)#%)^)

And so he was.

Kuroda lay in his hospital bed with his wrists and ankles strapped down by six different locks on each limb. He considered trying to escape but figured that it would be too much work with too little reward.

Though to be honest this was how he expected to be treated after his little fight with the Kenpachi. He'd truthfully did not expect such a fight from the man, from what he'd seen with his fight with Ichigo, the man was mostly brute strength.

But from his own fight, it was clear the man was much more. Kuroda didn't know how, but the Kenpachi's legs had so much strength in them that it propelled him fast enough to keep up with Shunpo. In addition the man's reflexes were not lacking either, it took true control of the sword to be able to pull off some of the stunts the Kenpachi had done in their fight.

The man was crazy too, embraced it even. Perhaps he was not troubled by his mental state because he had a simple mind, he just wanted to fight something.

Kuroda chuckled at the thought. Oh, the irony. The intellects suffer and simpletons rejoice.

Weird

It was then that the door opened,

"He's in here Kenny!"

Speak of the devil,

"You sure Yachiru?" asked the unmistakable voice of Kenpachi,

"He's right over here," replied the pink haired girl as she jumped onto the side of Kuroda's bed, "Hey Kooky!"

Kuroda snorted at his nickname, "Hello Yachiru,"

"Well you look like shit," commented Kenpachi,

"You would know," Kuroda shot back, the Captain just snorted.

Despite Kuroda's current state, his opponent looked much worse. Head to toe Kenpachi was covered in bandages and seemed to walk with a noticeable limp. Still, it was nothing that could keep the big man down.

"Why're you still in bed?" asked Kenpachi, "I didn't mess you up that bad."

"I'd be out of here, but Unohana is keeping me down until I heal up," explained Kuroda, "truthfully I'm a bit grateful. It's better than going out there and facing the wrath of Yoruichi."

"That purple haired woman?" asked Kenpachi,

Kuroda nodded,

"Is she strong?"

"Heh, yeah. She is, used to be Captain before going into exile," explained Kuroda, "she's also the fastest person of ever met. Her skill with Shunpo is unmatched as far as I know."

"Hm, maybe I should fight her," Kenpachi thoughtfully said,

"Everything's always simple for you isn't it?" asked Kuroda,

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?" demanded Kenpachi,

"It's always fight this, are they strong, and finding a more, that's pretty much how your life is isn't it?"

"Got a problem with how I live?" challenged Kenpachi, "I don't got any of those higher callings. Fighting is when I feel most alive, why shouldn't I base my life around it."

"Ordinarily I'd be very much against it," admitted Kuroda, "but with you, I feel a bit jealous."

Kenpachi raised an eyebrow. "whatever"

"Kooky's a weirdo!" squealed Yachiru,

Kuroda frowned, Yachiru kind of reminded him of someone. Someone, he just couldn't seem to remember who, someone very close.

"DAD!"

Oh, now he remembered.

Mei, in all her teenage girl power, came bursting through the door and to the side of his bed.

"DAD!"

"What?"

"DAD!"

"What?"

"DAD!"

"What god damn it!"

"Oh you're awake," she realized,

"If my hands were free, I would have knocked you across the head," he growled,

"Oh, don't be like that dad, it's just that sometimes you ignore me completely," she whined,

"If you were a little more mature I might be more inclined to listen to you," he suggested, "what are you doing here anyway?"

"I wanted to see if it was true, that you got your butt kicked," she answered, "I can see that it was true."

"First off, I did not get my butt kicked, the fight was interrupted and ended in a draw," growled Kuroda, "secondly, look at the guy behind you."

Mei did and nearly paled when she saw the Kenpachi towering over her.

"See, he's just as badly wounded as me," her father said nonchalantly," Thirdly, I wasn't at full power. So it's not exactly like it was a fair fight."

"What! Are you telling me you held back!" roared Kenpachi,

"Uh…well,"

"You bastard, you know what this means don't you?"

"Not really,"

"You and me are gonna have a rematch the first chance we get!" declared the Captain, "I expect you to be at full power next time!"

"Ugh…fine, whatever," groaned Kuroda, then turning to his adopted daughter, "now look what you've gotten me into."

"Me! I didn't do anything!" she protested,

"I'll let you two talk, got to get out before Unohana knows I'm missing," said Kenpachi, "come Yachiru!"

"Bye bye!" called the little girl as she hopped out on to the tall man's shoulder,

When Kenpachi exited out the door, the mood of the room became noticeably darker. Mei locked the door handle and closed the window curtains.

"Alright, time to talk about what I called you over for," announced Kuroda,

Mei nodded, "is this about Aizen's defection?"

"Yes," answered Kuroda, "I know Soul Society, they won't take this defection lightly. A few lower shinigami they would have dismissed, but a Captain, no, they can't ignore it."

"What do you think they will do?"

"I have a theory, but why don't we let Keiji answer that," decided Kuroda,

"Yes Commander,"

Mei's eyes widened, she whipped around to see Keiji, Kaito, and Rajin all standing around the room. She hadn't even sensed their reiatsu until now, truly the Black Ops squad was the elite of the elite.

"what's the matter small fry, we scare you?" teased Kaito,

"Shut up bastard," growled Mei, "just because you're in Black Ops squad doesn't mean-"

"Enough you two," ordered Kuroda, "you can bicker later. Keiji, what did you learn?"

"A great deal Commander," began the 6th seat, "as you commanded, I've been all over the 1st division, tailing Captain Commander Yamamoto and his Lieutenant. From what I've gathered, you are correct, Soul Society will not take Aizen's defection lightly. They're not quite sure yet of what he's after, but they theorize that Karakura town is important to his plans."

"What makes them think that?" asked Rajin,

"According to them, the large amount of spiritual movement in Karakura is double the average of any other place on earth," explained Keiji, "but as I was saying, Captain Commander has decided that the best course of action will be to send an advance team of high level shinigami as a sort of look out for when Aizen does make a move."

"A good plan," admitted Kuroda, "do you have any ideas on who they'll be sending?"

"I'm afraid all I could find out was that they'd be sparing only one Captain for the task," answered Keiji, "forgive me sir, I should have looked harder."

"No, it's alright. I know what I need to now. That's all that matters," assured Kuroda, "The Captain Commander has the right idea, but he doesn't know what Aizen's capable of. Any shinigami lower than a Captain's level may be inadequate for the job."

"What makes you say that?" asked Kaito, "the lieutenants aren't the strongest shinigami around, but they're not push overs either."

"If Aizen really does make a move on Karakura, he'll want to make sure it succeeds. He's been part of the Gotei 13, he knows it inside and out. He'll know how to take down it's soldiers. What we need, are heavy hitters in the shadows, ready to take on what the advance team can't."

Kaito smiled wolfishly, "Like us?"

"Exactly," said Kuroda, "Keiji, Rajin, Kaito, you three will be part of the shadow team. Mei, I'm going to pull a few strings around here, see if I can't get you into the advance team."

"I understand," nodded Mei, though she was obviously disappointed about not being put in the shadow team.

"You're more important than you think Mei," assured Kuroda, "you're only a 3rd seat. The enemy won't expect you to have the amount of power that you possess. In essence, you'll be a hidden dagger."

Mei smiled ever so lightly at the compliment.

"Okay," she said,

"Just make sure none of them die,"

"What are our orders of engagement?" asked Rajin, "when will we know to step in?"

"I'll signal you via the old way," answered Kuroda, "make sure you're under seals when you get to the world of the living. Those things are troublesome but I don't need Karakura crumbling under our feet."

"Any questions?"

Before anyone could ask, there was a loud knock on the door.

"Kuroda, are you awake?" asked Captain Unohana,

A second later the Captain opened the door, finding only the patient and Mei in the room.

"How are you feeling Kuroda?" asked Unohana,

"Fine," he replied bluntly, "can I go now?"

"I'm afraid not, you haven't healed completely yet, you still need some rest before I can let you go," she replied,

Kuroda dropped back onto his pillow and groaned.

"Well, I don't think he wants to talk anymore," said Mei, "I guess I'll take my leave then. See ya Dad!"

"Bye Mei," he groaned as she left, just as the girl was about to exit, he added, "stay safe, and eat some more meat, you're looking a bit skinny."

Mei smiled before closing the door.

"You're such a good father," Unohana complimented,

"Don't mock me," was his only reply, "if I was a good father, I'd have kept her out of this life."

Unohana sighed, she wished she could help him with his self esteem as much as she could his wounds.

"Oh, by the way, someone is here to see you," she remembered,

On cue, the door was flung open.

"Kuroda!" roared Yoruichi,

"Uh oh"

"I'll just leave you two to talk," said Unohana as she made a hasty retreat to the door,

"Wait! No! At least untie me-and you're gone,"

He then turned his attention to the angry purple haired woman standing in front of his bed.

"I feel like I should be apologizing for something," he said,

"You can, leaving when you did," she answered,

"Come on Yoruichi, it wasn't that big of a deal. Besides, I didn't want to do a photoshoot and the pictures you got of Rajin and Kaito will be just fine," he pointed out, "it's not like my face would've gotten you many buyers anyway."

"It's not just that, why on earth did you agree to fight Kenpachi? You must have known you couldn't make it out of that fight unscathed,"

"In my defense, I honestly didn't think he could keep up with me like he did," admitted Kuroda, "and furthermore, I made a deal with Kenpachi: He let Ichigo live and in exchange, I gave him a good fight."

Yoruichi rubbed her forehead, "was that really necessary?"

"Yes," he replied immediately, "besides, I wasn't planning on dying. There's nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, but look at you, it's like those bandages are the only thing keeping you together," she pointed out, "you could have at least told me you were going to fight him today before you accepted to come help me."

"I didn't know I was going to fight him, he just sort of…barged in,"

"Well, what's with taking off your second seal again?" asked Yoruichi,

"…what?"

"I thought that was supposed to be bad, that's why you try not to take it off right? Because something bad happens?"

"I…I took off my second seal?" asked Kuroda, his knot beginning to form his stomach.

"Yeah, don't you remember?"

Kuroda's eyes widened, he found himself unable to speak, and his heart was suddenly pounding like a drum.

He didn't remember taking off the seal, why didn't he? He remembered the entire fight, down to last moves, all the way to when Unohana had interrupted. So why? Why couldn't he remember taking off the second seal?

The last time he'd done that it had been clear that it was gone and that his "other" was taking over. But this time, it had seemed like he'd been in control in the entire time.

Could it be? No! It couldn't be that far already, he'd only taken it off once.

Maybe he hadn't taken it off at all and he'd just had a boost in power from some trickling form the seals. Maybe they were just leaking a bit.

But Yoruichi seemed so sure that he'd in fact taken it off!

His breath was getting shorter, he could feel his throat seize up. Why was it so damn bright in here? He needed somewhere dark, somewhere to hide for a couple of minutes.

Anywhere! His breath suddenly stopped altogether, why couldn't he breath? Was he sweating? God it was warm, he needed water!

"Kuroda!" he heard,

He tried to form words but he couldn't, his heart pounded too fast, his throat was too narrow.

"Unohana!"

"What's going on!"

"Something's wrong, I think he's having a panic attack!"

Why were the voices talking so loud? Why couldn't they just be quiet? It wasn't hard, just close their mouths! In fact, ripping out their throats would also be good!

Wait no! That wasn't how he thought, that was how the "other" thought! Was he already out? Was his second seal on right now? What if the "other" had made it through.

His heart wouldn't stop pounding. He struggled against his restraints as he silently screamed, someone grabbed his hands. He heard voices telling him to calm down.

How could be calm, he needed help! The "other" was loose! God, why couldn't anyone understand? What if he was in control right now? Worse! What if the "He" got out too!

No!

NO!

"Kuroda!"

(#(*%)(#%^)(*#%&)(#*%)#(%^*)#*%(_#*%&_&)#%^)#(%*)

Everything was black, Kuroda could breathe again.

The sweet air filled his aching lungs and his heart was no longer pounding.

He opened his eyes.

The lights had been shut off, or perhaps it was already night. He could feel his body drenched in cold sweat, his hands and feet were still restrained to the bed, lovely.

What had happened?

He remembered pain, a whole lot of pain

Then everything had gone black and now here he lay.

It took a moment before he remembered the grim truth, during his fight with Kenpachi, he'd taken off the second seal.

Which meant two things, either in a moment of weakness he'd willingly done it, or the "other" had snuck through and done it for him.

He suspected the latter.

If his hands were free he'd be rubbing is temple, why did stuff like this have to happen to him?

Where was the bloody heat? His entire body was freezing, except for his hand, why was his hand warm?

Kuroda turned his eyes, and saw the source of the warmth: Yoruichi

Her head lay slumped on the bed, his hand in hers.

It was strangely comforting and at the same time uncomfortable, if he'd been free, he'd probably have pulled away by now. But instead, he was forced to bear through the uncomfortable comforting.

Kuroda sighed to himself.

"You're awake?"

Kuroda turned back to Yoruichi to see that the woman had woken from her slumber.

"Yeah," he replied, "what happened?"

"Unohana said that you had a panic attack or something, you froze up and started going crazy, I think one of your restraints snapped and we were forced to pacify you," she recalled,

"How'd you do that?" he asked,

"I punched in the head," she answered,

"Ah, effective," he mused,

Yoruichi reached up with her hand and placed it against his forehead, probably checking to make sure he hadn't gone ill.

When she was done, she asked, "is it really that bad?"

"Hm?"

"What you hide behind your second seal, is it really that bad?"

Kuroda paused before replying, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Yoruichi pinched his arm, "don't lie to me, I've known you long enough to know when you are. I've also known you long enough to believe that I have a right to know what's going on with you."

Kuroda sighed heavily, "it's none of your concern, I-"

CRACK!

Yoruichi slapped him across the face, "don't give me that, it's my concern if I make it,"

"Is this an interrogation?"

"Yes," she replied,

"Well I'm not going to say anything," warned Kuroda, "and despite being a Captain of the 2nd division, I know you don't like torture, so you're wasting your time."

"Kuroda, damn it," cursed Yoruichi, standing up so quickly that her chair was knocked over, "I'm trying to help here,"

"I don't need your help,"

You had a panic attack for godsake," she pointed out, "if it's bad enough to make you shiver with fear, then I think you could use all the help you can get."

"I've handled it for over a century and I can handle it now," he shot back,

"You weren't fighting for over a century,"

She had a point and Kuroda knew it, now he was in a corner.

"I'm still not saying anything," he answered stubbornly, "it's better for you that way."

This time it was Yoruichi's turn to sigh, "why do you men always have to be so, so, pig headed."

"It's just better that way, don't ask why,"

Yoruichi looked like she was going to punch, again. "Just answer me one question Kuroda, is this, whatever you're hiding. Is it dangerous?"

Kuroda hesitated, unsure on if he should answer or not.

Yoruichi looked at him pleadingly, her golden eyes piercing the thick armor he'd developed around himself after so many long years. This wasn't fair! He wanted to tell her everything but knew that if he did, she'd try to help him. And that was something he simply could not allow.

The "other" was not choosy on where or when he fought. He just wanted to fight someone strong, Yoruichi could very well fall into the category of strong, and Kuroda didn't know if she'd survive the fight.

Answering this question, wouldn't really be revealing too much would it? It'd be more like…a warning.

"Yes," he finally answered, "more dangerous than you can imagine."

"can you…really handle it?" she asked, concern deep in her voice,

"I hope so, but I'm not sure of it," he admitted,

"Great, now I'm even more worried," said Yoruichi as she pinched the bridge of her nose,

"I'm sorry, it shouldn't be your problem,"

"No worries," she said, putting on a smile, "you can't stop me from getting involved, so it's my own fault. But I'm happy with my decision."

"Happy that you're causing yourself grief? That's new,"

"Heh, I'm just happy that at least I'm getting somewhere with you," she explained, "after all, you're one of the closest friends I have, I need to look out for you. If I don't, no one else will, and then where would we be?"

"In a very bad situation I'd imagine,"

"Yeah, besides," she said, "I doubt anyone else could put up with your stubbornness and idiocy."

"Idiocy?"

"Yeah, you're an idiot," she repeated, "for being stubborn and reckless and not accepting help."

"Hey, I thought-"

"Plus, only a stupid man would try to resist the charms of a lovely woman like me," she taunted, giving her hair a flip for extra flair.

"Gah, what are you talking about!" he demanded,

"I've seen you olgling me, trying to push down those feelings of lust," she continued,

"Ah..gah…wha?"

"Heehee, do you dream about me too? Fantasizing on what you'd do to me if I were yours for the taking?"

"Gff…asd…ah…wha…No!"

"Hehehehe!"

"Ugh, why do I let you tease me so much?" he asked himself,

"Because you like me," answered Yoruichi,

"Well, I've had enough for a day, how about doing me a favor and getting these damn locks off. I'd do it myself, but I don't' feel like going through the trouble,"

"I don't know, I feel like I should take advantage of the situation," she teased, her eyes traveling around thoughtfully,

"You, what?"

Yoruichi licked her lips devilishly,

"Yoruichi, you're starting to worry me," admitted Kuroda,

"Just close your eyes," she purred, "it'll be over before you know it."

"I really don't feel like I should," he said,

"Fine," Yoruichi sauntered over to the bed

And flopped down beside him, resting her head on his shoulder.

After a few moments, Kuroda had to ask, "this, is how you take advantage of the situation?"

"I could try something a little more perverted if you like," she offered,

"Uh, no, I think this is fine," he answered,

Yoruichi chuckled contently and went back resting on his shoulder,

"What if someone comes in?" he asked,

"It's the midnight of your tomorrow, it'll be fine," she said,

"I've been out for a whole day?"

"Mmhmm," she said through his shoulder,

"…how long were you with me?"

"The whole time," she replied,

"Oh….thank you,"

"Don't mention it," she said, a bit drowsily,

After a few moments of silence, Kuroda finally said, "Yoruichi,"

"Hm?"

"Thanks for putting up with me,"

Though Kuroda could not see it, Yoruichi smiled and snuggled in a little closer,

"No problem"

**End**

**A/N**

**So, there's chapter 25.**

**I, as sick as this sounds, enjoyed writing Kuroda's panic attack. It get's the mind thinking on how to make it as gritty and realistic sounding as possible.**

**But I hope you took the few hints I dropped here on Kuroda's mystery. Don't worry, the truth will be revealed in due time, most likely within the next 5 chapters or so.**

**But again, thank you for reading.**

**If you are a fan of the Predator franchise, you know the big aliens with masks that hunt people, and the Mass Effect franchise, I'd like you to go and check out the sample chapters of a crossover story I have planned.**

**It's called Predators: The Variety of Prey**

**It stars Urdnot Wrex and Thane Krios, plus a whole host of Oc's that I created.**

**So, anyway, please review, subscribe, favorite, etc**

**Bye Bye!**


	26. Chapter 26

**I apologize for not updating any sooner but a lot of stuff has been clogging up my life, namely school and my mother. Yeah, don't ask. But here it is. We're going to get out of Soul Society now and get on to some new arcs.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 26

Kaito Gets Drunk

A new day had dawned upon Seireitei

The sun shone beautifully, the fluffy wisps of clouds artistically decorated the vibrant blue sky, and the wind blew with a ting of sweetness through the streets.

The Captain-Commander, in his old age, liked to take in the small moments of false serenity and appreciate them to the full, even it did only last a few blissful seconds.

He brought an aged yet strong hand up to his bare head and massaged the side of his temples. The last few days had been quite trying to say the least, so much had happened in such little time, and it was up to him as the leader of Seireitei to deal with it.

In his younger years, he might have moved a bit more smoothly, but now he felt the grim feeling of age upon his bones. True, he made a point to keep himself physically fit, and his mind sharp, but those aspects could not keep him safe from time.

The elderly shinigami took in a long breath of air, then calmly let it out.

He could still feel his newest scar tingling on his body. His mind wandered out to his battle with the former Commander of Seireitei's black operations.

Never before had someone like Kuroda stepped into the walls of Seireitei, since the Captain Commander himself had come as a young man. From the day they met, the Captain Commander could tell that Kuroda would be special, and he had been right.

The young man had started out as a seated member and worked his way up quickly through the ranks of his division, soon becoming a Lieutenant.

Many believed correctly that soon he'd be given command of a division himself. No one however, could have guessed that he'd be pushed into the black ops division.

Much less that he'd become its Commander in less than a year.

The Commander before Kuroda had died due to, unusual circumstances, as had nearly half the division on the same day. The Captain Commander had never asked Kuroda what had happened that day, though he suspected the worst.

Thinking of the man brought the elderly shinigami to the present, remembering the thing that needed to be done.

"Chojiro!" he called out,

"Yes sir?"

"Call for the Captains to come to our barracks, we have a meeting," he ordered,

"Yes sir!"

"And call for Kuroda Ryou as well," he added, "We have much to discuss with that one."

(()#%*^#%^*)(#%^*)(#*%^)#*(%^)#(%*^)#%^*)#%^*)

Kuroda would very much like to go to a meeting, even if it was with the Gotei 13 Captains, and even if the Captain Commander himself would be there.

Yes, he would like to go.

If he wasn't still tied down!

Though, he supposed things could have been worse. Yoruichi still had yet to wake up from "taking advantage" of him. Her head was still snuggled against his shoulder, her breaths and the sound of her heart rather calming given his current situation.

To pass the time, he tried thinking of other things.

Such as where he'd get a new shirt

He was in fact naked from the waste up at the moment, save for the many bandages wrapped around his body, as his old shirt had been torn to shreds in his battle against Kenpachi. His cloak was still in relatively good shape amazingly enough, and his pants were nearly completely untouched, thank goodness for that.

Maybe there was still something in his old room at the Black Ops division, from what Rajin had told him before, his things had been left relatively untouched, or he could just buy something new. Then again, not a lot of places had clothing in his style.

His thoughts were interrupted by a small stir from the one sharing his bed. Yoruichi gave a small grunt as she opened her eyes.

She rubbed them a bit, then looked up at her victim.

An amused smile spread across her face, "morning,"

"Morning," he replied, "sleep well?"

"All things considered, yes, I slept very well," she answered, trailing a finger down his arm, "maybe you should get put in the hospital more often, you're very good at warming up a bed."

Kuroda rolled his eyes and didn't respond.

Yoruichi giggled, "you're not very good at pillow talk,"

Kuroda let out a groan of annoyance.

"Oh I see, you prefer to go right to the action," she continued, "I can do that to."

Her finger suddenly began trailing lower,

Kuroda's eyes widened in alarm

Thankfully, there was a knock on the door.

Yoruichi had enough sense to roll off the bed and sit down on one of the chairs before the door was opened.

Captain Unohana walked in, a bright smile on her face.

"Good morning Kuroda," she said sweetly, "and good morning to you as well Yoruichi,"

"Morning Unohana," replied the purple haired woman, "I just thought I'd check up on Kuroda early, why are you here?"

"I'm here to see if Kuroda has made any progress in his recovery," she replied, walking over to the side of Kuroda's bed, "how are you feeling today?"

"Fine," he replied, "can I go now?"

"Perhaps, let me just see how your injuries are doing," she said, the Captain of the 4th began to unwrap the bloody bandages that had been used to mend the man's wounds.

She took her time in examining each cut, using her well trained eyes to tell as to whether it need more time to close up, if it was infected, and if it would scar.

"It seems that all of your wounds have healed well, though many of them have turned to scars, unfortunately," she said, "if you like, I can try and remove-"

"That won't be necessary," he interrupted, "just untie me and let me go,"

"As you wish,"

Kuroda's straps were promptly removed from his limbs and Unohana gave him the go ahead to leave the hospital, she even gave him a spare standard shinigami top for him to wear, much to Yoruichi's disappointment. As to whether she was disappointed that she'd no longer get to see him without a shirt, or that he'd no longer be walking around without a shirt, he didn't know.

Kuroda put the feudal Japanese style shirt on, it was a bit too floppy for his taste but it would suffice for now.

"So," said Yoruichi as they exited the room and began to walk down the hallway, "what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know," he replied,

"That's no like you at all, usually you have everything planned out,"

"I'm sure something will happen to me today," he explained, "I just have to wait for it to happen."

"The food here is crap!" they suddenly heard, followed by the sound of breaking plates,

The two looked down the adjacent hall to see two men, most likely from the 11th division, shouting at one of the 4th division members.

"I-I'm sorry," said the 4th division member, "but t-this is the only food we have, please don't hurt me!"

"What? I don't believe that, can't you weaklings even cook decent food?"

"Yeah," said the other, "we were injured in battle! We're heros! You'd better start treating us better, or we'll-"

"Is there a problem here?"

The two 11th division members turned away from terrorizing the young 4th division member, to see Kuroda standing just behind them.

"Butt out, this isn't your business!" growled one of them,

"Yeah, best make trails unless you want to end up back in your room!" said his friend,

Kuroda remained silent and simply glared at them with his devil like eyes.

There was sudden unexplainable spike of fear in both men as this newcomer's stare pierced their reserves of bravery.

"H-hey! Say something!" one of them demanded shakily,

Kuroda's eyes narrowed dangerously,

The fear was quite evident with both men as their knees threatened to give way.

"Maybe you should apologize to the little one," suggested Kuroda, "after all, you are in this division's care. Though, despite their great prowess in healing, some of the patients that have stayed at the 4th division in the past have unfortunately, died"

The two men hugged each other and squealed,

"We're sorry!" they both screamed as they ran down back the hall and into their rooms.

Kuroda, satisfied that those two wouldn't cause any more trouble, turned his attention to the 4th division member on the ground.

"Uh…thank you very much sir!"

"You're welcome," replied Kuroda, without another word, he spun on his heel and returned to making his way to the exit, Yoruichi just behind him.

"Who was that?" asked the 4th division member,

"A very trouble man,"

"Ah!"

"Are you alright 7th seat Yamada?" asked Captain Unohana,

"Uh, yes! Thank you Captain,"

Hanataro began to clean up the mess, Unohana on the other hand stared off after Kuroda.

What did his arrival signal she wondered, for a man who was a servant of death left only calamity in his wake.

(#%(*#&)(%*&)#%*^)#*%)(#*%+_#%_*#)%*(#)

"Never thought I'd see you play hero," teased Yoruichi,

"I wasn't, I just hate idiots," he corrected dryly, not even turning to face her.

"If you say so,"

"I do,"

Yoruichi smiled, "you know, despite what you are, you're a very bad liar."

Kuroda chose not to respond, instead picking up the pace a little, even if he didn't have a clear idea on where he was going.

As the two continued walking in some random direction, Kuroda's mind eventually began listing off the things that he should probably get around to.

Talking to Ichigo for instance, he had a great deal to discuss with the kid. The only reason he had waited for a couple of days was because he wanted to give the hero a break after going through so much in only a week.

Then there was his own issues, one of his bands had been cut off in his duel with Yamamoto. At the moment he improvised a third seal by wrapping the broken seal in a crude knot around his arm in addition to the still functional ones. It seemed to be working so far, though there was a notable leak in the patch work system. He could always ask that creepy 12th division captain to help him but, Kuroda didn't exactly trust the mad man. If anything, he'd probably take the bands off to study Kuroda's reaction.

The ex-commander sighed, why did life have to be so complicated?

"Hey, he's out!"

Kuroda heard the sound of two people dropping in behind them, he casually turned to face them.

"Glad to see you're out of that place Commander," smiled Rajin,

"Yeah, be a shame to lose you just when you got back," joked Kaito, the 3rd seat's eyes turned to Yoruichi, a devious twinkle lit in his eye, "so did you two share a room last night?"

"Kaito, stop right-"

"Sure did," replied Yoruichi,

"Oh, so you got into the Commander's bed while he was tied down and helpless, didn't know you two were into that kind of thing,"

"Kaito, that's disgusting," growled Kuroda, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation,

"I…agree," Rajin managed to push forth after ridding himself of some scarring images, "how about instead of talking about such vulgar topics, we do what we were supposed to do, Kaito."

"Fine, fine, buzz kill," grumbled the 3rd seat, "Commander, the old man has called a Captains meeting."

"Why are you telling me?" he asked, though he suspected he already knew the answer,

"The Captain Commander wants you to attend,"

Kuroda remained silent for a brief moment, mulling over the thought in his head

"I guess I shouldn't keep them waiting," he decided, "This was bound to happen eventually."

"Good luck sir," said Rajin,

"If you get attacked, we'll be there to back you up," assured Kaito,

Kuroda let a ghost of a smirk pass his lips before he began his journey to the 1st division barracks. When he was far enough away, Yoruichi asked the two shinigami, "you're not going to join him?"

"I've got prior arrangements that I have to fulfill," explained Rajin,

"Same here,"

Yoruichi let those words hang before realizing, "you two have dates."

Another pause before both admitted,

"Yeah,"

"Well, see ya!" Kaito disappeared in a flash of shunpo,

"Good bye," Rajin also disappeared,

Leaving Yoruichi by her lonesome self to laugh

"Men," she chuckled, "absolutely powerless to women."

#()*%#&()%*^#()*%)#%*^)#(%*^)#%*^)#(%*^)#%*)#%(^*)#

For none was that statement truer, then for Kaito.

The 3rd seat had run at top speed to meet his lovely date at the best cafe possible, after all, she did like to drink quite a bit. Just one of things he shared in common with her.

"Ah, **The Happy Monkey**, best place to get drunk, day or night," he said to himself as he caught view of the café.

He could recall the many times he'd met with friends at this café, both before and after he'd joined the Black Ops division. Kuroda had often reminded him on how the division looked down on needless alcohol consumption, but Kaito had always managed to slip around the Commander's gaze by waking up completely fine after every party, even the ones where he'd gotten ridiculously drunk.

Hang overs were like colds to him, they sucked, but they didn't stop him.

"Hello sir," greeted a hostess, "welcome to **The Happy Monkey**, how may I help you today?"

"I believe I have a reservation, under Kaito"

"Ah yes," said the hostess after scanning her books, "thank you for choosing us, your friend is already here! I'll take you to your booth."

The young hostess led the eager Kaito to his greatly anticipated date. Even though he'd gone on a date with the lovely lady twice before, he still felt giddy to meet her.

"Here you are sir, please enjoy your time with us," said the Hostess, opening the booth door for him,

"Thank you," he replied as she left,

Then, almost immediately rushed into the room,

"Hey there sexy," he said with an almost animalistic growl, "did you miss me?"

"Heh, considering I got the first copy of the calendar we made of you, I managed to survive,"

Rangiku giggled girlishly at her own joke, Kaito laughed as well.

"You compare me to a couple of pictures? I'm hurt," he said with feigned and over exaggerated sadness as he entered the room, "wouldn't you prefer the real me dear Rangiku?"

"Well," she pondered, her eyes gaining a playful twinkle, "there are certain things I can do with the real you that I can't with pictures."

Kaito blushed till his face was near cherry red, though unlike his commander, he blushed out of excitement instead of actual embarrassment.

"Come on now," she said, pouring a cup of sake, "get in here and have a drink with me,"

"Yes ma'am!" Kaito quickly walked in and sat down at the table and quickly downed the first cup of sake.

Rangiku poured herself a cup of sake and down the fiery liquid just as fast.

"Ah! Nothing like a good drink after a hard day of work," she said,

"What work? Don't you always skip out on the stuff your Captain gives you?" Kaito pointed out with a chuckle,

"Hey, last I heard you weren't exactly employee of the month either!" she reminded him,

"I guess not, I like having fun too much!" he laughed, then downed another glass.

Rangiku laughed along, "but since your boss is back, aren't you worried you'll have less time to drink?"

"Eh? Whatch ya talking about?"

"That guy," she replied

"With the black hair" she stroked her hair

"Angry eyes" she pushed down her eyebrows

"And big frown," she pushed her lips into an exaggerated frown

"HAHAHAHA!" roared Kaito as he looked at the woman's imitation of the Commander, "stop it! Stop it!"

"Nah, I'm not too worried," replied Kaito when he managed to get over the sight, "wait, how'd you know he was my boss?"

"I guessed," she admitted after drinking another cup, "you know, I've known you for a while now and I still don't know what you do."

"Uh…well, I'm a shinigami like you, what else do you need to know?" he asked,

"But you never tell me what division you're from," she whined cutely, while subtly shifting her robes around a little "can't you even give me a little hint?"

"Uh…" Kaito was a little too distracted looking at Rangiku's…well, ya know,

"Just one, little, tiny hint?" she pleaded, loosening her robes a little more with each word and leaning farther and farther over the table.

"Uh…"

Rangiku smirked. She really liked Kaito, she really did. But they'd honestly known each other for many years, and been dating for half the time. Never once had he disclosed what division he belonged to. Of course, despite what most believed, Rangiku was not stupid. She was in fact, quite bright. She knew that if Kaito would tell her, it meant that he was in something super-secret, and naturally she just had to find out.

She had no problems using her feminine wiles to get what she wanted. Problem was that Kaito, though not resistant to her in the least, still managed to stop himself and get a nice show at the same time. It was a bit infuriating, but kind of fun.

Kaito shook himself,

"that's not going to work on me" he chuckled, proud that he'd resisted and gotten to see more of the lovely Rangiku than any other man had.

"Not good enough," Rangiku said adamantly, she reached over the table and grabbed Kaito by the collar of his shirt, then stared directly into his eyes, "we're going to drink until your drunk enough to tell me!"

Kaito's eyes naturally drifted down and settled on Rangiku's…cleavage…again.

As such, he was entirely paying attention.

"Okay," he mumbled while still staring, "hey want to see something cool?"

Kaito pulled away and grabbed the entire bottle of remaining sake, then without warning, chugged the entire contents of the bottle down.

"Whoa, that was awesome!" said Rangiku, completely forgetting about her earlier promise, "I bet I can do the same in half the time!"

"You're on!"

The two ordered another couple bottles of sake,

"Ready"

Rangiku lifted the bottle to her lips,"

"Go!"

She lifted it high and began gulping down the wonderful drink until the whole bottle was empty.

"AH!" she let out as she wiped the residue liquid from her lips,

"Not bad, but it took you twice as long," Kaito pointed out cockily,

"Nu uh! You're bottle was only half full!" she accused,

"Oh yeah," Kaito snatched a full bottle, "then I'll prove it with this!"

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Kuroda was not the least bit happy. Why? Because he was going to the 1st division barracks for a meeting, and he wanted nothing more than to stay as far away from the damnable place as possible. The closest he'd wanted to get was his own division's barracks and even that was pushing it.

Still, this needed to be done.

As the great gates of the 1st division's meeting room creaked open to let him in, he felt a small tingle of sentimentality inch its way up his spine.

He'd entered this room many times in the past, but never through the front door, and never as the subject of the meeting.

Taking a deep breath, he walked in and let the doors shut behind him.

"Welcome, Kuroda Ryou"

Welcome, huh?

Kuroda scanned the ranks of the Captains that had remained loyal to Soul Society, noticing some familiar faces in the crowd.

Chief among them being the unmistakable Sajin Komamura, it was impossible not to recognize him after their fight. His building like frame towered over all the other Captains. The only surprising thing was the Captain's face, it looked like a wolf's.

Kuroda took note of the Captain's peculiar trait and moved on.

The next he recognized was Mayuri Kurotsuchi, the Captain of the 12th squad. Kuroda still remembered the brilliant yet mad scientist from when Kisuke had recruited the criminal from the Maggots Nest, a maximum security prison under the jurisdiction of the 2nd squad.

Kuroda noticed that the man's choice of facial paint had not changed, nor the peculiar hats the man chose to wear.

Then, there was the Kenpachi, a tall muscular and frightening man. His spiked hair with bells on the tips and eye patch were defining characteristics. As were the many scars that crisscrossed his body.

Kuroda gave him a nod of acknowledgement, Kenpachi returned it with a respectful nod of his own.

Further down was someone Kuroda had not met before.

A young white haired boy, with eyes an incredible turquoise color and his face and demeanor was of that many years his elder. The young Captain had the youth of a boy just into his teens, yet the aura of a veteran leader.

Kuroda made a note to watch that one.

The next two were ones that Kuroda did not need to spend too much time on. Shunsui and Jushiro, both gave him a smile as he continued forward. Shunsui with his lazy lips and his hat pulled over his eyes and Jushiro with his childlike innocence in a big toothy grin.

Next he noticed the two female members of the group mainly made up of men.

Captain Unohana, her motherly face and kind eyes followed Kuroda. The exile had felt nothing but respect for the woman his whole life, though the Captain of a non-combat division, she herself was a master swordsman and a dangerous force on the field of battle. In addition, she could save just about anyone from the brink of death, no matter how deep the wound or how much blood had been lost, she always pulled through.

Then there was Captain Soi Fon, focused, deadly were the characteristics Kuroda saw in her. The deceptively small woman boasted speed that surpassed any of the Captains present, save for the Captain Commander himself. In addition, the woman had no qualms of fighting dirty or using tricks. One did not become Captain of the 2nd by fighting fairly or by being weak.

Last, but not least, was someone Kuroda had not seen for a long time. Kuchiki Byakuya, as proud as he was as a child, but considerably less angry, a nice change that came with time. The man seemed to be the personification of nobility, despite the many visible wounds, he held his head high and kept his eyes focused. The air around him seemed to reek of confidence.

Kuroda gave the man a respectful nod, the noble man returned after a brief moment of hesitation.

"I believe, you know what we have brought you here to discuss," said the Captain Commander,

"Aizen, correct?"

Kuroda noticed the young Captain Hitsugaya flinch at the mention of the name.

"Correct," affirmed the elder shinigami, "his betrayal was a shock to all of us. It would seem that you came to Soul Society for this very reason. I have called you here, so that you may inform us, just how long Aizen has been a traitor."

Kuroda snorted, much to the confusion of the Captains, "Aizen wasn't a traitor, because he was never loyal to Soul Society."

And so Kuroda told them the story of Sosuke Aizen, former Captain of the 5th division.

_Flashback_

_Kuroda lay in a pool of his own blood, the life emptying from his very veins._

_His breaths were shallow as his lungs desperately tried to find oxygen, his eyes began to darken as he slowly felt death coming for him. But above all, he felt something no one should have to feel before they died, hate._

_Undying amounts of hate._

_His eyes fell on his betrayer, Sosuke Aizen._

_He had been the one to do this, he had been responsible for the disappearance of all those citizens of Rukongai, he had turned Kensei and Mashiro into hollows!_

_Now, Kuroda was paying for his lack of attention. He'd been given Hiyori to take care of after she'd fallen in battle. Normally he would force it upon Lisa, who was lower in rank than he, but Kuroda knew how much Hiyori meant to Kisuke. So he took it upon himself to protect the girl._

_Only for her to turn on him, he could still feel the massive gash on his ribcage that she'd given to him._

_Now, the entire team was down. Love, Rose, Kensei, Lisa, Hachi, Mashiro, and Hiyori. Only Shinji still stood and he was barely holding together._

'_Is this where it ends?' Kuroda asked himself as he heard Aizen gloat over his victory,_

"_I'm surprised, since when have you known, Captain Hirako?"_

"_Since you were in yer mother's womb," a defeated Shinji replied weakly but with plenty of venom, "I always knew you weren't a man to be trusted, that's why I chose you as my Lieutenant"_

_Aizen smiled, "indeed, I'm most grateful to you. Because of your constant doubting, you never saw,"_

"_What are you talking about," growled Shinji,_

"_This entire month, it hasn't been me who was walking behind you," Shinji gasped, "I can make my enemies see whatever I want them to. That is the power of my zanpaktou, I like to refer to it as 'Absolute Hypnosis'"_

"_Hypnosis?"_

"_If only you'd acted like the other Captains, and reached out to me. Instead, you kept me at arm's length at all times, always distancing yourself from me, because you didn't trust. If you had formed a bond with me and gotten to know me better, then perhaps you would have seen through my illusion."_

"_Aizen," growled Shinji,_

"_Do you see now, Captain Hirako? You didn't choose me as your lieutenant so that you could keep an eye on me. I chose to be your lieutenant so that I could keep an eye on you. You're comrades lay on the ground, because of you."_

"_Bastard!" Shinji rose from the ground to cut down his traitorous lieutenant, and he would have if not for the sudden fountain of white liquid that spewed forth from every pore of his face._

"_It seems the hollowfication is quickened with anger," observed Aizen, "thank you for becoming provoked."_

_Shinji screamed with pain as the process continued; the entire right side of his face completely covered in the viscous substance. Soon it began to form itself, creating teeth, eye sockets._

_The screams continued._

_Kuroda grabbed at the dirt, his hands balling up in anger._

_The process had started for him as well. His left side was burning as the hollow liquid enveloped his face. It began to stick to his skin and meld it's way around his eyes._

_He looked to Hiyori who stood up in a daze, the demonic hollow mask keeping Kuroda from seeing her face._

"_Shin-ji," she whispered,_

_Aizen took note, "Kaname,"_

"_Yes Lord Aizen," the dark skinned shinigami unsheathed his sword,_

"_No!" cried out Shinji, another explosion of hollow liquid dropped him to his knees,_

_Kaname calmly walked to Kisuke's lieutenant, he raised his blade._

_Then was tossed aside like a ragdoll._

"_Interesting," commented Aizen,_

_Kuroda had dragged his sorry self up from the ground and smacked Kaname away with his left hand and took the still dazed Hiyori in his right, slinging her over his shoulder._

"_Stay away from her," growled the Commander of Black Ops,_

_A burst of white fluid erupted from his face, Kuroda felt only pain, but ignored it completely. If a mask was beginning to form, there was certainly no indication that it was. For what covered his face was more like a parasite, covering his face entirely in a simple white sheet that made his likeness unrecognizable to any who gazed upon him._

_Only the two eye sockets were the only true pieces of that made it a true mask._

_Kuroda could only feel the fluid covering about 2/3rds of his face, most of his left cheek was untouched and his left eye was still not taken._

"_You brave hollowfication to save that girl?" asked Aizen, "how touching, I did not think you so attached to your comrades."_

_Kuroda remained silent, mostly because he refused to talk more than because his mouth was now entirely covered._

"_Or is it because, Captain Urahara cares for her?" Aizen smiled, "you are an interesting man, Kuroda Ryou."_

_Kuroda opened his mouth and let out a long and chilling breath, which through his mask, sounded like a low demonic hiss._

_Aizen let out a small chuckle, "just another path to power for you, isn't it. At least this one didn't end in the death of a loved one."_

_Kuroda's eyes flashed with fury. Suddenly, all reason was abandoned, he dropped Hiyori to the ground and charged!_

_End of Flash back_

"I think you know how the rest goes," ended Kuroda,

The hall was silent as the Captain's digested this new information. Aizen had broken the barrier between Hollow and Shinigami already and tested it on 8 of Soul Societies shinigami, Captains and Lieutenants no less.

And for a whole century, no one had thought to investigate the matter. No one had unearthed Aizen's treachery.

The Captain-Commander was the first to break silence

"This is…most disturbing,"

"Indeed," started Captain Kuchiki, "if Sosuke Aizen has indeed been a traitor-,"

"Enemy" corrected Kuroda

"An enemy all this time," repeated Byakuya ,"then there is no telling how many of our own troops are under his influence, or what he has already accomplished in the Hollow world of Hueco Mundo."

"It is already clear that he has made some pact with the Hollows," reminded Captain Ukitake, "the Gillian saved him at the Soukyoku Hill. Then there was that attack that knocked away Kuroda, it was definitely a cero."

"I agree," spoke the Captain Commander, "Kuroda, Aizen has already performed his experiments on you?"

"He has,"

"Will you show it to us?"

"No," Kuroda replied immediately, "if the power of hollowication were so easy for me, I would have used it against you in our fight. The others have tamed their hollows, but mine is not so easily produced. I only use it in the most extreme of emergencies."

"I see," said Yamamoto, "can you at least tell us it's effects?"

"It increases all physical aspects of the user, strength, speed, endurance, reiatsu, all of it is doubled at the very least," said Kuroda, "it also allows us to use some hollow abilities, such as cero."

"Hollowfication of shinigami," said Captain Kurotsuchi, his long fingers thoughtfully stroking his chin, "such an interesting idea, why didn't I think of it before?"

"Don't be so eager to attempt something you couldn't possibly begin to understand," growled Kuroda,

"What was that? You dare to assume that I couldn't replicate Aizen's experiments?" Kurotsuchi yelled indignantly, "All I need is one test subject and I can even improve on Aizen's work!"

"I'm not assuming, I know you couldn't replicate hollowfication," said Kuroda, "because not even Aizen could do it, until he gained one key tool, Kisuke Urahara's Hogyoku"

The mention of that object, sent shivers through the entire room, silencing all the Captains, save Kurotsuchi who was practically exploding with contained rage at being insulted so.

"Kisuke's Hogyoku is no laughing matter. I don't know the specifics, but it let Aizen transcend the barrier between hollow and shinigami. In addition, Kisuke told me that it could warp the very reality of our world, it creates the holders wishes. It is spirit energy given sentient life,"

"What's the worst that Aizen could do with it?" asked Captain Komamura,

"When I was still in the world of the living, I and Yoruich came upon a rouge Shinigami, with two Arrancar to do his bidding," reaccounted Kuroda, "after we had defeated them, a new Arrancar came out. He was more powerful than either of the previous two, enough to give most of you trouble. The rouge shinigami, said that his master had given him the power to create Arrancar by injecting reiatsu into hollows, thus speeding up their evolution."

Every Captain in the room seemed to tense when they realized what Kuroda was getting at.

"There is no doubt in my mind that the master was Aizen, at best, Aizen will use the Hogyoku to create an army of Arrancar, at worst, he'll use it to destroy all of Soul Society."

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"Heeheehee! This is so much fun!" said Rangiku through slurred words as she downed another cup of sake.

"Sake makes you feel so good, I don't know why more people don't drink it more often," agreed Kaito through equally slurred words, though he was noticeably more composed,

"Oooh! My cheeks are so warm!" announced Rangiku as she touched her flushed cheeks with amazement,

Kaito reached over and put his hand to one of her cheeks, "Whoa! You're right! Why do you think it's, it's, uh….that way…with the…not being cold"

"Um…maybe…maybe I'm sick!" realized Rangiku,

"That makes sense," said Kaito, "let me check your head temperature!"

Immediately he pushed himself over the table and pressed his forehead against the woman's, she felt hot, she felt really hot.

"You're burning up!" he cried,

"What do we do! I don't want to get sick!" wailed Rangiku,

Kaito, wanting to help his dear big breasted goddess, searched his intoxicated mind for an answer that might help.

'Commander's mom, if there were ever a time you're lessons could help me, now is the time!'

_You can lessen the chances of getting drunk by not skipping work and by not going to the bar!_

'No, that doesn't help'

_When performing field surgery, make sure you use clean tools and not you're zanpaktou, people tend to die when you do that!_

'Come on, give me something here!"

_I hear if you stick a sleeping man's hand in a cup of hot water, they'll wet the bed!_

'Uh, maybe I'll try that on Rajin later,'

_If you get sick, you should bundle up tight so that you can be as warm as possible. After that just get comfortable and rest._

'For the love of God, give something I can-hey, wait!'

"I heard that if you get sick, you should bundle up tight so that you can be as warm as possible," said Kaito,

"Oh, but all I have is this scarf," Rangiku cried, holding up her pink scarf,

"I've got an idea, how about you come over here and cuddle with me, we can share body heat!" suggested Kaito, "and, you'll be comfortable against my rock hard washboard abs!"

For emphasis he loosened his shirt and exposed his bare torso for her viewing pleasure, sticking it out a little for good measure.

Rangiku stared hungrily with stars in her eyes, she literally tumbled over the table and pushed herself against the god like body of her companion. She literally rubbed her cheeks against his body, and sinfully enjoyed every moment of it in the name of making herself healthy again.

"This is such a good idea," she said as she wrapped her right arm around Kaito's waist.

Kaito smiled to himself gleefully as his own hand found its way onto Rangiku's curvy side, "you can always rely on me sexy"

"I think I was trying to do something before, but I can't remember," said Rangiku, "something about…about…"

"Maybe you should drink more sake, it might help you remember,"

"Yosh, sake always helps!" she agreed, grabbing another cup,

"Those voices sound familiar," said a voice outside of their private booth,

The door slid open, revealing the Lieutenant of the 3rd division, Izuru Kira, and the Lieutenant of the 9th division, Shuhei Hisagi.

"Oh, Izuru, Shuhei!" called Kaito as Rangiku continued to rub her face into his chest, "long time no see! Come in! Have a drink, or two, or a dozen!"

"Party!" declared Rangiku,

"Party!"

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"This threat, reaches far beyond anything I could have imagined," admitted the Captain-Commander,

Silence reigned in the meeting hall, the Captains, each of them, completely shocked by what they had learned.

"Let us, now move on to other matters," decided Yamamoto, "Aizen is not the only reason we have met here today. We are also here, to talk of the unofficial Substitute Shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki"

Kuroda tensed his hands,

"It is true that Ichigo Kurosaki, stopped what would have been an unjust execution of Rukia Kuchiki. But it is also true that he illegally entered Seireitei, attacked our Shinigami, and destroyed the sacred Soukyoku spear," the Captain Commander paused, "we must decide, on this Substitute's fate"

"Therefore," continued the elderly shinigami, "I propose-"

"Before you continue," interrupted Kuroda, "let me tell you this: If any, single one of you, raises you're blade against Ichigo Kurosaki, or any of the humans, who risked their lives so that this already tainted White City could regain some scrap of dignity, I will not hesitate to kill any of you."

There was a long pause as Kuroda's words hung in the air. Many looked upon him with shock, who was he, to threaten them so boldly and in the middle of a Captain's meeting no less. But then, some of them saw the deadly gave the he settled upon the room, it almost seemed as if he had already calculated on which one of them he should kill first.

"As I was saying," continued Yamamoto, "I propose, that we put this matter to a vote. Who among us, say that Ichigo Kurosaki, should be released of any charge?"

Suprisingly, the first hand to be raised was Byakuya's. Then came Captain Ukitake's and Captain Kyoraku raised theirs.

Kuroda's hand slowly crept to AnShen's pommel.

"You, advocate his innocence?" asked Sajin Komamura, his question directed at Kuroda,

"I do,"

"Then, I shall support him," decided the Captain of the 7th, then raised one furry paw,

Without a word, Captain Hitsugaya raised his hand next.

That made it Five out of Ten.

"I do like the kid," said Kenpachi, "why the hell not."

Then raised his hand

Six out of Ten

Then came Captain Unohana's hand and lastly, Captain Soi Fon.

"Then, it is decided," said Yamamoto, "Kurosaki Ichigo, shall be named an official part of Soul Society and be pardoned for his actions."

Kuroda's hand fell away from AnShen, to be honest, he was slightly disappointed.

"Now, we come to the final part of our meeting," announced the Captain Commander, "our ranks have been thinned, three of our Captains have left the Gotei 13. This is a problem that must be remedied as quickly as possible. But, there are not many Shinigami in Seireitei that are in a position to take the spot of Captain."

Kuroda wondered what this had to do with him.

"Kuroda Ryou, will you retake your place among the Gotei 13, as Commander of Black Operations?"

**End**

**A/N**

**Well, I hope you at least somewhat enjoyed that chapter. It was kind of short, and not that much happened. I'm truly sorry if you were disappointed, but I have a lot happening right now. It really sucks being in a school where you can be considered below average for having a 3.0 GPA, I have a 3.83 and I'm struggling to keep it that way.**

**Anyway, don't expect another chapter for a while. Again, Sorry.**

**Also, I've updated my profile. Some of you might know that list of story ideas that I kept on my page, well I've thrown out a lot of them and put up new ones. I also created a poll to see which ones people like the best, so if you could go there and vote, I'd much appreciate it.**

**Also, I'd like to recommend a story:**

**Scarlet Symphony by X Prodigy**

**It's a very well written story and he has a deviant art page where you can see an actual drawing of his OC.**

**Speaking of which, OC submissions are still open.**

**I think that's all I wanted to say, yup. Bye.**


	27. Chapter 27

**So, I was going on Youtube, looking through a couple of music videos. Then I started wondering, what would a good theme song for Kuroda be? What would a good theme song for Rajin and Kaito be? Of course I started with Kuroda, and I found two candidates: Bartholomew by Silent Comedy and Monster by Skillet. But, you didn't come here for my meaningless thoughts, you came here for the story, a little more character development for Kuroda in this chapter. I hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 27

Decisions

Kuroda was one of those men who'd seen so much in their life that barely anything could surprise him anymore. At best, the most surprising things would mildly intrigue him, at worst they'd be down right boring.

And when he was surprised, it'd be incredibly hard to tell. Those in the Black Ops division were required to have a very good poker face. In the face of an experienced enemy, the smallest twitch could give away vital information.

The single question that the Captain Commander had just asked him, sent Kuroda reeling back on his heels.

It took every fiber of his being to keep his face straight and without emotion. But could anyone blame him for being surprised like he was? After a century of being in exile, of leaving behind his past life, of convincing himself that he would never be a member of Soul Society again, he was suddenly offered his chance to come back.

Surprising seemed like a euphemism.

"Commander of Black Operations?" he asked hesitantly,

"Yes," replied Yamamoto, "the spot of Commander of Black Operations has been vacant for too long. You stand before us now and I believe no one will deny you're right to take the spot,"

"I was not aware we had a Black Operations division," Captain Hitsugaya whispered to Captain Kyoraku on his left,

"Mmm, very few know," Shunsui whispered back, "it's only ever spoken of in front of Captains, and even then no effort is made to inform them of the division. Most of the time we just stumble on to them after a while."

Hitsugaya nodded, he understood the need for a force to be hidden. A secret weapon that was shrouded in more darkness then even the 2nd division was a huge tactical advantage.

"I…" began Kuroda, "will need some time, to come up with my answer."

"Understood," said Yamamoto, "have your answer by tomorrow, until then, this meeting of the Captains is ended. Return to your divisions."

With that, the Captains began to leave the meeting hall, one by one passing by Kuroda who was still standing in the middle of the hall.

Only when all of the shinigami left, did he break his statue pose and move out of the hall as well. As he walked through the 1st division's barracks, his mind was a buzz with thoughts.

He could become the Commander of Black Operations again, which meant that things would go back to way they had been before he'd had that fateful encounter with Aizen.

He could have his old command back, he would be a high ranking officer in Soul Society, he would be able to fight alongside Rajin and Kaito again, he could live in Seireitei.

But, the problem was, he wasn't sure if that was what he wanted anymore.

When he was still the Commander a century ago, he had had the same amount of contempt for both humanity and Soul Society. But he had bared through it so that he could remain the Commander and hopefully change things.

But when he'd been put into exile, when he was forced to live among humanity, he no longer needed to bare those responsibilities. And for once he'd been allowed to express the hatred that had been kept inside of him for so long. Moreover, being in exile had a certain amount of freedom to it, he was no longer subject to Soul Societies corruption or cloak and dagger operations. Taking Yamamoto's offer to return as Commander would make him feel like a lion being forced to eat grass, and would leave just as horrible of a taste in his mouth.

On the other hand, his father had always had high hopes for his future. He'd always said that Kuroda would get far in life and that someday Kuroda would stand up high in Seireitei. With the loss of his position of Commander, Kuroda had felt a certain sense of failure. With this offer, he could fulfill his father's wish again.

So wrapped up in his thoughts was he, that Kuroda failed to notice the 9'5 foot tall tower of muscle and fur standing in his way. As he continued to crawl through his frustration, he suddenly walked right into the Captain of the 7th.

"What the-,oh, it's you," realized Kuroda as he stared up at the wolf like face of Komamura,

The Captain likewise stared down at him with his distinct eyes and the occasional twitch of his ears.

"You, were a victim of Aizen's betrayal, long ago, correct?" asked Komamura,

"Yes," replied Kuroda, "as I told everyone in the meeting, I was a victim."

"Of…Kaname's betrayal too?" Komamura asked with some difficulty,

"Yes,"

"Then, it is more than I could have imagined," Komamura said, his voice drooping out of grief.

"You were close with Tosen, weren't you?" realized Kuroda,

"Yes," answered Komamura without hesitation, "he was, my friend, for many years."

"You wish to understand then, why he betrayed Soul Society in such a manner and without any real explanation,"

Komamura nodded heavily,

Kuroda, needing a chance to take his mind off current events, decided that he could use the Captain to kill some time.

"Come," he said, "let's find a better place to talk. I never liked talking in 1st division's barracks,"

()(#*#&_*(_%*()%&)(#*%)#(*%&()#*%&)#%*&)(#*%(&)#)

Back with Kaito

"I don't know if I should drink any more, I'm pretty sure I'm at my limit," Izuru chuckled,

"Too late," laughed Rangiku as she poured him another cup,

"Come on Izuru, live a little more," said Kaito, "alcohol is good for you."

"Yeah," Shuhei said through slurred words, "it helps with that thing…that does stuff…to the food and the…um"

"stomach?" suggested Kaito,

"THAT'S IT! THAT'S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO SAY" realized Shuhei,

"This is the best day ever!" announced Rangiku, then proceeded to press her face back against Kaito's chest.

($)#%&()#*%&()#*%&)#(%*&#%&)#(%*&()#%&*)#)

'Why do I feel like Kaito is breaking some rule?' wondered Kuroda,

He decided to shake the thought from his mind and concentrate more on the big fellow that had followed him out on this nice grassy field.

It was a place on the outskirts of Seireitei that Kuroda in the past had enjoyed visiting when he needed some time to be alone. His favored spot being a small hill under a rather large tree.

"This place, is very peaceful, calming" observed Komamura, "Kaname, would have enjoyed it here."

"You knew him well didn't you?" said Kuroda, "or at least, thought you did."

"Indeed, he was the closest friend that I had in all of Soul Society. It was he who accepted me when no one else would. Perhaps that was simply because he was not gifted with sight, but I still like to think that we became friends because of it."

"It must have been quite a shock to you," said Kuroda, "for him to do this all of a sudden."

"Yes, he was always a traitor according to your tale. I feel as though…as though…"

"Everything you knew about the world was a lie,"

Komamura turned to Kuroda in surprise, "Yes,"

"I understand, I know what that's like," assured Kuroda, "you have my sympathies."

"Thank you, but…"

"You want me to tell you why he betrayed, don't you,"

Komamura paused, then gave an affirming grunt.

"The truth is that I'm not quite sure myself," answered Kuroda, "when Tosen first joined the 9th division, it's former Captain spoke highly of him. In his words, Tosen had a strong sense of justice, and was adamant in his beliefs."

"Then, I am truly at a loss," said Komamura, "I had hoped that something in the past would shed some light on his true nature. But, from your words I have gleaned nothing."

"One's nature, does not have to be vile and malicious in order to be capable of evil," Kuroda pointed out,

"What do you mean?"

"A man's stance on justice, is more like one born of where he stands in the world and the experiences he has had," explained Kuroda,

"Take war as an example, where there is not 'good' and no 'evil', there is simply one side and the other. But each side believes that the other is in the wrong, and that they are the ones in the right. One soldiers view of justice, can be quite different from what soldier's from the opposing side's view is. Tosen, could merely be on the other side and have his view of justice skewed. Mind you, the two sides do not have to be opposite, they could be side by side, yet there have been plenty cases where that has still created enough difference to warrant war."

"You speak as though you've seen such things happen"

"I have, time and time again. Take me as another example, I am no hero, no righteous warrior, no man of great moral,"

"You are too hard on yourself,"

"I am not hard enough, I am as I have said, yet I once fought as a Commander in the ranks of the Gotei 13, the supposed pure white city that served to protect the balance."

Komamura did not speak.

"And then, there are the experiences that a man has. Experiences, can also change a man's perception, the way he sees the world. Someone who has the great evils commited by one that is beloved by many, will see the killing of that man to be justified, though others will not."

Again, Komamura did not speak.

"Of course, there is always the possibility that his character is fake," said Kuroda, then added, "or you don't know the whole picture."

A very long lapse of silence passed before Komamura finally said, "You are, an interesting man."

Kuroda let out a snort,

"Do you intend to retake your position?" asked Komamura,

"Why do you ask?"

"We could use someone of your position, especially with our ranks in the condition that they are,"

Kuroda sighed, "I'm not sure. If you were in my position, would you?"

"Absolutely, it would be a chance to try to right the wrongs of your past and serve the people of the world."

"Hm, I suppose," he replied, then stood up, "in any case, I must be off. I have many things to think on."

"Of course, it has been a pleasure speaking with you, Kuroda," said Komamura, standing up as well, "you're insight has been most enlightening, thank you."

(#()%*()*#%&)*(#^%)(#&*(%)#*(%&)#*%_*#%_&#%)#*%))_)

"Bye Shuhei, bye Izuru," called Kaito,

"Bye bye man!" called out the still very drunk Izuru,

Kaito smiled, after their little party he'd paid the rather large bill and carried both of the too tipsy lieutenants back to their respective barracks. He'd already dropped Shuhei off, who was near passed out by then, and now he had his lovely girlfriend on his back.

He didn't mind really, his pay was rather generous so he didn't need to be too careful on how he spent his money and the exercise was good for him, it helped the man sober up. Plus, now he could feel the soft touch of Rangiku's womanly traits pressing down on his back. Yay!

A dirty thought or two ran through his mind as he carried the drunken beauty back to the 10th division so she could rest.

"Jush one more, jush one more," she murmured happily,

"I think you've had enough for today beautiful" he said,

"Can't we have one more," she whined, "I'm fine, really!"

"Sorry, but we both have to work tomorrow,"

"Awww, thash no fun," she cried,

"I know, I hate work too, maybe you can trick some other guys into doing it for you," he suggested,

"Oh, thash a great idea! With my boobs I can get any guy to do," she laughed,

"Yeah, your boobs are great," he agreed, joining in on her laugh,

"But I'm still gonna have a headache in the morning," Rangiku realized, her suddenly drooping, "and the Captain is gonna get mad at me when I get back."

"Don't worry, it's only 10:30," assured Kaito, "and I'll sneak you in so he doesn't notice."

"You can do that?"

"Yep, some friends taught me to be stealthy, even if I'm not very good at it," he replied, "and don't worry about waking up with a hangover. I'll come over with some tea that'll clear it right up and give you a nice massage,"

"Really?"

"Do I get to work your back?"

"Yesh,"

"Then of course I'm gonna give you a massage," he affirmed, "I can leave you to suffer."

"You're so good to me," she cooed, rubbing her cheek into the back of his neck,

"Of course I am," he whispered, just loud enough for her to hear, "how can I not be."

After a bit more walking, the two finally reached the 10th division's barracks. From there, Kaito carefully concealed both his and Rangiku's reiatsu, just as Keiji had shown him. Then quietly snuck into the barracks, soon he had his sleeping beauty at her room.

"Alright, time for bed," he whispered as he gently lay her down on her bed,

"Kaito, are we gonna do it?" Rangiku asked sleepily,

"Heh, sorry, maybe next time,"

"Awww," she whined, "how about a kiss?"

"Well…okay," he decided,

Kneeling down to her level, he lowered his head. Their faces grew closer, until finally Kaito's lips pressed up against Rangiku's.

It was a chaste yet loving kiss, one that you wouldn't expect from a man like him. But it made Rangiku smile, if he wasn't going to be more forward, then she would.

With speed surprising for someone as drunk as her, she wrapped one arm around his neck and pulled him deeper into their kiss.

Kaito was caught off guard, but wasn't about to complain.

With much reluctance, he broke off from the strawberry blonde woman's kiss, taking in a deep breath of air to make up for all that time he spent without it.

"That was, nice," he said, "but it's time to go to sleep,"

"Okay," smiled Rangiku, laying her head down on her pillow, "stay with me a little longer."

Kaito couldn't help but give in to her wish. He'd sit by her side until she fell asleep, lovingly holding her hand.

It was only ten minutes before he left, but it was ten minutes of pleasantness.

He exited the 10th division a happy man.

"What a great night," he said to the moon, "better get back, wouldn't want to worry the -Commander?"

"Hey," said Kuroda as he walked by,

"Uh…hey," replied Kaito,

The Commander walked on, soon Kaito could no longer see him.

"there's something off about him," Kaito pondered his thoughts, "well, since Rajin isn't around, I guess I've gotta go talk to him."

With that, Kaito walked after his Commander.

"Where is Rajin anyway?"

(()*#%)&(*#%^)#(*%^)#%*()*%^*)(#*)%)#%*())

A couple of minutes after the Captain's meeting

Soi Fon had bolted straight for her division immediately after the meeting had been finished. The events of the meeting weighed heavily on her mind, but she had decided to push them off for another time. Right now, she had much more pressing matters to attend to.

"Oh, Captain, you're back!" her lieutenant blubbered as she entered her office, clumsily hiding a package of snacks behind his back and pretending to organize some papers, "I was just…uh, finishing up, and was gonna-"

"I don't have time for your idiocy right now," she growled, "I'll be gone tonight on a mission of up most importance. Tell the men to train until they drop."

"Uh, sure"

"And have that paper work done by tomorrow morning, if it's not, I'll hang you by your ankles from the Soukyoku hill,"

With that finished, she slammed the door closed and left.

Lieutenant Omaeda was left with a very sick feeling in his gut, "I think I just lost my appetite."

Soi Fon hurried through the halls to her personal quarters. Being part of the 2nd division, her own room was rather plain and lacking of luxury items. It had a bed, a closet, an area for washing, and other such necessities.

But right now, she sincerely wished she had spent a bit less time on work and a little more time for herself.

Cause she had no idea what to wear for her date.

(#%*(#%&(()#)*%&(*#%&)#*^%)#%))#*(%(#%)#%)#)*%()

Rajin waited in the **Golden Dragon** for his date to arrive.

The **Golden Dragon **was Seireitei's "fanciest" restaurant, according to everyone he'd talked to. He had to admit, they were not lying. The whole place had a sort of dark velvety red motif to it, the lights were dimmed down to let candles work for each table, and a soothing orchestra was played at the front of the dining hall that could calm the grittiest nerves.

He knelt down at a private booth he had reserved for him and Soi Fon. The pillows given for them to sit on were very comfortable, and the table had a nice artistic design on it, something Rajin studied to pass the time.

He wondered if Soi Fon would go through the trouble to dress up for the occasion, the thought brought a small chuckle to his lips. Soi Fon was never one to care about out ward appearance, she groomed herself just enough so that she was presentable.

Rajin himself tried not to overdo it with dressing up either, but that still didn't mean he was going to show up in his regular uniform. Today he donned a deep blue kosode under a light blue haori, and pair of matching deep blue hakama.

Knowing Soi Fon, she'd probably just come in her uniform. He didn't really mind, she looked good in it.

A knock from the booth's door interrupted his thoughts,

"Here is your table ma'am," the door slid open, showing him the arrived Soi Fon.

Raijin's eyes widened, Soi Fon had actually dressed up.

"Thank you," said Soi Fon as she stepped in, the waitress shut the door, leaving them alone.

The Captain of the 2nd division looked up and saw Rajin's dream like stare,

"What?" she asked, a small blush developing on her cheeks despite her angry face, "are you so surprised to see me in a kimono?"

"No," he replied softly, "you look lovely."

Soi Fon was caught off guard, but quickly hid it with a scowl, "flattery won't get you anywhere"

She sat down and tried to avoid Rajin's gaze, it was making her feel…weird.

Though, it was no surprise that Rajin stared. Soi Fon had donned a lovely maroon kimono that had a beautiful design that had white butterflies resting on branches. She also had taken off the white pieces of cloth and golden rings that she usually had on her two long braids. Instead she chose to simply wear her braids as they were.

Rajin couldn't take his eyes off of her, he smiled warmly at her. She in turn tried to avoid his gaze and blushed madly, but every so often she'd look up into his eyes.

"How have you been Soi Fon?" he asked,

"I've been fine," she replied bluntly, "why do you care?"

"I like you,"

"I...I thought I told you flattery won't get you anywhere," she stuttered,

"Sorry, can't help it," apologized Rajin, still smiling, "especially if it's you."

Soi Fon chose not to respond, she probably couldn't as she was still trying to calm herself.

Rajin, deciding not to continue embarrassing her, grabbed the pot of tea and poured two cups, "here you go."

"Thank you," mumbled Soi Fon as she took the tea, as she reached for the cup, her fingers grazed Rajin's. While she didn't freak out, she did have a spike of temperature inside of her chest. By the time the cup reached her had fully, she was near dizzy.

She also accidently slipped up and spilled a small amount of tea on her hand.

Soi Fon let out a small yelp of surprise as the hot liquid touched her skin,

"Oh, are you hurt?" Rajin asked immediately,

"It's nothing," she replied,

The Rakurai smiled, she was trying to be tough.

"Here," he said, taking her hand in his own, "let me see."

Soi Fon didn't resist, but Rajin was definitely making the heat problem in her chest worse.

"It's not bad," he said, "just a little burn"

Even so, Rajin blew a cool wind on the small burn, he kept going until Soi Fon finally said, "you can stop now."

"Sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?"

"No," she lied, again trying to hide herself,

"Heh, nearly 50 years we've known each other Soi Fon, and you still blush when I hold your hand,"

Soi Fon, jerked her hand away, eyes wide as she finally realized that she had concealed herself poorly.

"Well, it's not like I enjoy you touching me," she said, "I just…I just"

"It's okay," interrupted Rajin,

At that moment, their food decided to arrive.

"Ah, our food, time to eat," he announced.

((#(%*Y#()%*&)#*%&)#*&%)(#*&%)#(&*%)#%)#%&)#&%)

"I do not need a bottle of sake," growled Kuroda,

"Sure you do, it solves all problems," Kaito assured,

"You've been influenced too much by that girlfriend of yours,"

"Well it's either the bottle of sake or talking, I don't really like talking so we're going with the bottle of sake," Kaito raised an eyebrow, "unless you want to talk."

Kuroda sighed, his hand rubbing small circles in his forehead. Kaito wouldn't have been his first choice in talking about his current situation, but Kuroda learned long ago that you had to work with what you were given.

"Well, something big happened,"

"Uh huh,"

"Really big"

"well, don't keep me in suspense,"

Kuroda sighed again, "The Captain Commander, offered me my position as Commander back"

"Holy crap! Really? That's great!" whooped Kaito, but then he saw the trouble look on his friend's face, "it is great, right?"

"I don't know," admitted Kuroda,

"But, you can come back man! You can have the seat of power, you can keep trying to change this place. Just like you said you would," reminded Kaito, "and you won't have to be an exile anymore."

"I know," mumbled Kuroda,

"So, are you gonna take it?"

"I don't know," repeated Kuroda, "I just don't."

"Well, what's stopping you?"

"Kaito, you remember that one job we pulled, the one where we killed all those civilians?"

"You'll have to be more specific, we did that a lot," answered the 3rd seat,

"The one in the Zaraki district"

"That narrows it down to a dozen,"

"The one where I found Mei,"

"Oh! Yes, that one, I remember,"

"It's stuff like that that's making me hesitate right now,"

"All the cloak and dagger?"

"Yeah, all the cloak and dagger," said Kuroda, "when I was in the world of the living, I didn't have to obey orders like that. I had freedom, I could do what I wanted. If something questionable was done, at least it was my call."

"I guess, freedom does sound nice. But, what about making your old man proud?"

"…do you know what he once said to me?"

"No,"

_Flash Back_

_Kuroda, in the days of being a simple shinigami, in the days of just being the Lieutenant of the 2__nd__ division, when he had much less to care about and was much younger._

_His friends Yoruichi, Kisuke, and Rajin served alongside him in the 2__nd__ division, Kaito was in the 11__th__, no surprise._

_Back then, he was much happier._

"_Man, what a day!" Kuroda yawned as he walked through the streets of Seireitei back to his division barrack, "that was some mission, who knew so many hollows could get into Soul Society and cause so much-"_

"_Rah!"_

"_Yikes!"_

_A figure crashed down from above, katana swinging down with deadly speed. Kuroda barely avoided the razor sharp blade by jumping away at the last second. His hand immediately went to AnShen, drawing the katana from it's sheath just as the figure came at him again._

_Their weapons smashed together, Kuroda struggled desperately against his much stronger opponent._

_Without warning, the figure pushed their lock to side and lashed out with his fist. Kuroda saw it too late, the man's knuckles connected with his face and he was sent reeling back in pain._

"_Ow!" he cried out,_

"_Sloppy!" scolded the figure,_

_Kuroda looked up, to see the Lieutenant of Seireitei's black ops, his father, Taiju Ryou._

"_I thought I told you to keep your guard up!"_

"_I did!" protested Kuroda,_

"_Well it wasn't good enough!" growled Taiju, who then lashed out with a kick,_

_Kuroda dodged under and charged his father, but the old man easily batted away his attack and swept the young Kuroda's feet from under him._

"_What the hell was that?" yelled Taiju, "are you trying to kill me or get me to slowly grind my feet away by dragging them across the floor?"_

"_Of course I'm trying to kill you" growled Kuroda, smashing his forehead into his father's, "you always try to kill me! Who wouldn't retaliate!"_

"_Well you're doing a piss poor job of it!"_

"_Well you only have one eye!"_

"_Well you have weird eyes!"_

"_Well you're a god damn geezer!"_

"_Well you're an immature punk!"_

"_You snore like a pig!"_

"_You eat like a pig!"_

"_You're my father! You're supposed to be supporting me!"_

"_I'll do whatever the hell I want! Especially to punks who don't respect their elders!"_

"_You're an old man!"_

"_OLD MAN? Now I really am going to kill you!"_

"_Bring it!"_

_A couple hours later_

_Kuroda sat, or rather, laid sprawled out in a crater the big enough to be a swimming pool and deep enough to warrant a warning sign._

"_Ugh," he groaned, he was in pain, a lot of it. He was pretty sure his right rib cage was entirely broken, his left collar bone had been cracked, and both of his shoulders had become dislocated. In addition, he had about a dozen small cuts on his back, at least three large cuts on his chest and abdominal area, and a giant one down his left arm._

"_Still alive?" asked Taiju, who calmly sat on a large piece of rubble that had been dislodged in the fighting, the Lieutenant took a long drag from a thin pipe, "good, at least this time you're conscious"_

"_I can't feel my arms,"_

"_Well, I didn't cut them off, so you should be fine," Taiju replied nonchalantly, "get up already, its gonna get dark soon,"_

_Kuroda complied with much exertion on his part,_

"_Let's go get your mother, she'll get you patched up,"_

"_No need," Itsumi Ryou, Kuroda's foster mother came up with a box of medical supplies in hand,_

"_Let's see what the damage is this time," she announced as she got to work treating Kuroda's injuries. As she worked she let out a small sigh, "I do wish your father would take it easier on you, the body can only handle so much punishment."_

"_It's not that bad mom, really," assured Kuroda, "it's actually pretty light considering some of our past fights."_

"_I know, I know, but I don't think it's very healthy for you to become used to pain,"_

"_But, everyone in the black ops division is supposed to be used to pain right?"_

_Itsumi temporarily stopped her work, before continuing and replying, "yes dear,"_

"_Well, if I'm going to be part of the division like you and dad, then I should probably start getting used to it, right?"_

"_Yes dear," she replied, a hint of grief in her voice, "well, I think I'm done. Try not to move too much or you'll reopen the larger ones."_

"_Okay mom,"_

"_Take care dear," she said before planting a big kiss on his forehead,_

"_Mom," Kuroda protested, Itsumi just giggled. Kuroda rubbed the spot in embarrassment,_

_Itsumi walked away, her husband suddenly intercepted her and planted a kiss of his own on her lips._

"_Thanks Itsumi, the kid looked like he was about to fall apart,"_

"_It's no problem Taiju, but I wish you'd stop hurting him so much," she mentioned,_

"_Nah, it's good for him. The enemy isn't gonna take it light on him, so I shouldn't either,"_

"_About that," she started, a bit of hesitation in her voice, she dropped into a whisper and said, "he wants to join the black ops division."_

_Taiju's pipe nearly fell out of his mouth, but he hid his surprise well._

_His once carefree attitude, replaced with something more…serious._

"_I see," he whispered,_

_With that, Itsumi left the two men._

_Taiju chewed the end of his pipe thoughtfully as he watched the young man he called his son stretch his limbs as though he'd never been harmed. Each day, Kuroda seemed to improve exponentially, and each time they fought, Taiju felt the kid gaining on him._

_Truth be told, it was making him feel old, and he hated feeling old. But at the same time, he was glad that he'd been right in picking up that street rat from those gangsters all those years ago._

_What's more, Kuroda, for whatever reason, seemed to remain relatively…_

"_So what now?" asked Kuroda,_

"_hungry?"_

"_Totally, I could go for some ramen right about now," grinned the young man,_

_Pure, Kuroda seemed real…pure._

_Taiju wasn't fool enough to actually believe that Kuroda was truly pure, he'd seen him as a young boy tear out a man's throat with a dull knife, but Kuroda seemed to still maintain his pure attitude._

"_Well, your mother does have to work late tonight, let's go to that Ramen bar,"_

"_Great, I think I'll try the squid this time," joked Kuroda as they started their walk, "and maybe I'll get some shrimp, and pork, maybe a little bit of…"_

_Two hours later,_

"_That was some good ramen," said Kuroda, giving a small belch of satisfaction,_

"_Sure did hit the spot," agreed Taiju as he paid the bill,_

"_Hmm,"_

"_What?" asked Taiju,_

"_Still hungry,"_

"_You just ate like three bowls!"_

"_I know, but I'm still hungry,"_

"_Well, maybe we can go to that buffet,"_

"_Good idea, let's go,"_

_Another two hours later,_

"_I'm pretty sure I'm full now," said Kuroda as he walked with his father,_

"_Good, I was about to start making you pay for the food,"_

_After a long moment of silence, Taiju finally said, "hey kid, I heard you want to be part of my division." _

"_Huh? Well, yeah,"_

"_What did you have in mind?"_

"_Figured I'd probably be Lieutenant,"_

"_You can't be Lieutenant, I'm Lieutenant," protested Taiju, "are you gonna kill me for my job?"_

"_No, I figure you'll replace the Captain pretty soon, won't you?"_

"_Careful kid," warned Taiju, "if Commander Hoshigaki heard you say that, you'd be assassinated,"_

"_But it's true isn't it? Soon you'll be Captain, and I can be your Lieutenant,"_

_Taiju sighed,_

"_Kuroda, do you really want to be part of the Black Ops division?"_

"_Yeah, why not?"_

"_Listen to me," he started, "you're going to train hard, and you're going to learn to lead men, and when you do, one day you'll be a Captain of a division."_

"_But you're gonna be the-"_

"_No kid, I mean of a division that isn't the Black Ops division,"_

_The words caught Kuroda completely off guard, "what-"_

"_I'm not gonna stop you Kuroda, but I don't want you to try and become part of the Black Ops division," said Taiju, "work hard, train your skills, improve yourself, become a Captain, and live a good life. Maybe go marry Yoruichi and have a bunch of kids. But don't join the Black Ops division. It's your choice in the end, but I'm warning you right now."_

_Kuroda was speechless,_

"_See you later kid," with that, Taiju shunpo'd away, leaving Kuroda very puzzled,_

_Flash Back End_

"So, your old man never wanted you to join Black Ops?"

"No, but I did any way. To make him proud," said Kuroda, "I think he was, sort of. Becoming Commander was supposed to be my way of making him even more proud. Too bad he died before he could see it."

"You ever find out why he didn't want you to join?"

"Yeah,"

Kaito decided it was wisest not to continue pressing for answers.

"Well, I can't tell you what to do Commander," he said, "I think that this one is one you. But I think it's up to me to tell, since Rajin isn't here, damn him, that no matter the decision, we'll still always answer to you. Even when you don't want us to."

Kuroda let out a small chuckle, "Thanks, that's, sort of comforting."

"And hey, you can't really lose if you choose either option, so don't worry about it too much," Kaito pointed out, "I'm gonna go sleep, later."

"Later," Kuroda waited until Kaito was gone, before standing up and deciding to take a walk. To where, he had no idea, he just needed to go somewhere.

(#()%*^#%)*(&^)#%#%(#%#)*%&)#*%)#*%&)#*(%&)#)#%(#)

"Did you have a good time?" asked Rajin,

"It was fine," mumbled Soi Fon,

Rajin smiled, "before we go back, I'd like to take you somewhere."

"Alright, it's not as if I have anything else to do," she replied,

"But first," Rajin said, stopping, "I need you to do something for me."

Soi Fon looked up at him expectantly. Rajin leaned forward and whispered, "please close your eyes, little bee."

Soi Fon blushed furiously at the use of her pet name, but after a bit of hesitation, complied. "Alright, I've closed them."

Without warning, Rajin scooped her up bridal style and took off across the rooftops. Though she continued to close her eyes, Soi Fon could hear the distinct sound of Rajin using Shunpo. Wind whipped across her face as he leapt through the air, she unconsciously pressed her face against his chest, trying to brace herself against the comfort he radiated.

She was understandably embarrassed at her own actions despite the fact that there was no one around except for her and Rajin. But at the moment, she didn't care if there were any others, she felt so safe in his arms, so loved.

Suddenly, Rajin slowed himself and his running was reduced to a brisk walking.

"Can I open yet?"

"In a moment little bee,"

A few more lovely moments passed, she heard the opening of a door and the sound of him going down stairs. Soi Fon continued to wait until finally she felt him come to a stop. She wrinkled her nose. There was a strange smell in the air, it wasn't a bad smell but it was a bit strong. Sort of, fragrant.

"You can open your eyes now,"

Soi Fon did, she was greeted by the breath taking scene of what she could only describe as an entire grove of glowing trees!

"Wha-"

"Do you like it?" asked Rajin,

"It's beautiful," she replied as she continued to stare, "but, where is this?"

"About 50 feet below ground," he replied as he brought her next to one of the trees,

Soi Fon, out of curiosity, reached out with her hand and touched the strange plant. Except she found that it wasn't a plant at all, it was some sort of rock. This bewildered her, she'd never heard of a rock that could glow a brilliant white, its light reminded her much of the moon's own glow.

Rajin let Soi Fon down so she could move around on her own.

The Captain of the 2nd took her first good look at her surroundings.

Her first move was to look up, Rajin had not lied, there was no sky above them, just a solid ceiling of earth that hung about 50ft up. The next thing she noticed was that her feet were not touching cold hard earth, it was actually touching soft grass.

She wondered how it could grow down here with no exposure to the sun.

The entire cavern was quite large, perhaps a bit larger than the maggots nest. From one end to the other, the glowing rock trees covered the ground, surrounded by the soft green grass that somehow lived without the sun.

The entire place had an unearthly beauty to it, as it were isolated from the rest of the world.

"Where is this?" she asked,

"It's what I like to call the Black Ops division's own personal meditation chamber," replied Rajin, the man walked over to one of the trees, "we found this strange rock when digging out new rooms for our barracks. It had the strangest properties. As you can see, it can glow in the dark, but we also found that grass grew around it. So, as a sort of pass time, we created our own little garden. We usually come here to just rest a while and think,"

Rajin took a seat against the trunk of one of the trees, "I come here a little in my free time, so I can get away from everything else."

Soi Fon took a seat down next to him, "how come you've never talked about it before?"

"This place is a secret to the Black Ops division, only those in the division are allowed to know about this place. If anybody found out about it, they could infiltrate our division easily,"

"Then why have you-"

"Because," he said, turning to face her, "I trust you."

Soi Fon's face turned a brilliant red and quickly turned away,

"You're an idiot," she muttered, "you should never give away intel like this, not even to your closest-"

Rajin abruptly pulled her against his chest and chuckled, "you need to learn to relax a little more, besides, you're the Captain of the 2nd division, if anyone can keep a secret, it's you."

"I thought I told you," she mumbled into his chest, "flattery isn't going to get you anywhere,"

"I know, I know,"

(#%(*)#%&)(#*%&)#(*%&)#(*%&)#(%&#_%&_#&%#)%&)_#_)_#%*()

An hour later

Rajin left the 2nd division quietly, leaving Soi Fon to sleep in peace. As he walked back towards his division, he found that he couldn't stop smiling.

His feet felt a bit lighter as they pushed him forward, and his heart seemed to beat with purpose. Such a strange emotion was love, it could make you feel like you were on top of the world or in its darkest corners.

"What are you so happy about?"

Rajin was pulled from his thoughts to see Kuroda leaning against the walls to his right.

"Commander? Out late tonight?"

"You didn't answer my question," said Kuroda as he stalked over to Rajin,

"Hm?"

"What are you so happy about?" he repeated,

"Oh, I just had a good night," explained Rajin,

"Ah, had a date with Soi Fon did you," Kuroda said with a glint of amusement,

"How did you-?"

"Oh please, back when I still lived here it was obvious you had affection for that girl," interrupted Kuroda, "every time we came across her, you'd smile pleasantly then she'd blush and you'd chuckle. Then when you'd part, there would always be a bit of a skip to your steps."

"Skip?"

"Skip"

"You're a mean man Commander," joked Rajin, "you're kind of like that too after you talk with Yoruichi,"

"My talks with Yoruichi leave me angry and annoyed," corrected Kuroda

"And flustered," added Rajin,

"…shut up,"

"But you only come out at night when something is bothering you, or when the moon is full," said Rajin, "the moon isn't full, so what's bothering you?"

After a bit of hesitation, "Yamamoto offered me my job back"

Rajin mulled the thought over for a bit, his mind going the processes of what such an event would do to his friend. How it would conflict him, how it would confuse him.

"He gave me a day to think it over,"

"And what, do you think your answer will be?" asked Rajin,

"I don't know" admitted Kuroda, "those whom I've talked to so far make me feel like I should take the job."

"But…" put in Rajin

"But I don't know if I want to take the job," finished Kuroda, with an emphasis on 'I'.

"So what stops you from saying no?"

"Come on Rajin you remember how much power I had when I was Commander," growled Kuroda, "that power…I could use to fight Aizen. I could do some good for once."

"Then it is the greater good that stops you,"

"Greater good? Heh, yeah, I guess so," chuckled Kuroda, "good, when was the last time I did something good?"

"I'm sure it was quite recent," answered Rajin,

Kuroda snorted in disgust, "yeah right."

"If you truly feel that you don't want to take the offer, then don't" suggested Rajin

"that would be the sensible thing to do, but soldiers also feel that they don't want to go to battle, so how do I know that what I want is what's right?" asked Kuroda,

"You don't," Rajin answered again, "you choose a path, and you live with the consequences."

"I don't like shooting from the hip," mumbled Kuroda, "I hate not knowing what to do."

"So does everyone who has had to make a hard choice," said Rajin, "but it is not up to us to decide whether they become our choices to make. All we can do is use the time that is given, to pick the path that we must choose. Not all the world is against you, not all of it is here to make you cause harm. Perhaps this is not a choice of what is the lesser evil or of which is of greater good, but simply of the road that will take you to those decisions. Sometimes your choices don't change the fate of all those around you and you are allowed to choose what you're heart truly wants, and that is a comforting thought. "

Kuroda stared ahead for a long moment, "I suppose it is."

Rajin, knowing that he could say no more, gave a small bow before continuing on.

(#*%)#*(%^)#(*%^)#%^*)#%^*()#^*%)#^*%)^*%)^%)#(*%)#%)#^*%)^*#%)

How late was it?

Kuroda must have been walking for what felt like hours. If he did get his job back, he was going to get modern clocks installed in Seireitei, then people could tell what time it was without having to look at the goddamn sun!

What else could he complain about; he needed something to keep his mind off Yamamoto's offer, thought that was probably pretty counterproductive.

"Commander!"

Kuroda turned to see Keiji, sitting on top of a wall, waving at him.

"Keiji, what are you doing out at this hour?"

"I could ask you the same thing," replied Keiji as he dropped down, "thinking about the Captain Commander's offer huh?"

"…how did you know about that?"

"Uh…oh jeez…well you see, I-"

"You were spying on the Captain's meeting, again, weren't you,"

"Well how can I stay away?" defended Keiji, "the Captains are always so secretive about what they do, it's only natural that I try to find the truth. Besides, it never hurt anybody."

"No, but it might hurt you one day,"

"You don't know that,"

Kuroda sighed, "Fine, do whatever you want."

"You know if you take your job back, I'll actually have to follow your orders,"

"Shut up Keiji,"

"Yes sir,"

"No…wait, don't" Kuroda pulled back, "don't shut up, you can talk…"

Keiji raised an eyebrow, "is something wrong,"

"I just," began Kuroda as he sat down to lean against the wall, "I don't know,"

Keiji plopped down next to his friend, "what's bothering you Commander?"

"….I'm not sure anymore," he admitted, "I'm pretty sure it's this damn decision I've got to make. I keep getting mixed messages, whenever I feel like I should take the offer, another reason says I shouldn't. When I feel like I shouldn't, then I suddenly get a reason that I should. It's driving me insane!"

"Well, you were already kind of insane to begin with," Keiji pointed out,

"So are you," Kuroda shot back,

"True, but my problem is only with stealing," replied Keiji, flipping a coin to emphasis the point, "you are more like a sociopath."

"I thought that was Kaito's problem,"

"Nah he's just from 11th division, they're all like that,"

Kuroda snorted, "What about you?"

"Hm?"

"What do you think I should do?"

"What do I think? What do I think you should do?"

Kuroda nodded,

"I think, you should stop," announced Keiji, "stop thinking so hard about it. Be the Commander that you were a century ago."

"You think I should-"

"No, I mean how you were a century ago. A century ago you would have made a choice like this in a split second. Why? Because back then, you always knew exactly what to do, you always knew which was the right choice and which was wrong, and you didn't let anyone tell you different."

"That sounds like me being stubborn,"

"No, that was you being confident, and someone who has always known what needed to be done confident. You always knew what needed to be done," continued Keiji, "I understand you've been through a lot Commander, but it's nothing worse than what you've been through before. I'm sure you even now you know what to do, you've just had it muddled by something"

"Like what?"

"I don't know, you tell me,"

Kuroda bit his lip and gave the words a good thinking.

"So, what are you gonna do?"

"Go talk to Yoruichi,"

()%#()%&*)#(%&*)#(*%&)(#*&%#)(*&%)#(*&)#*(%&)#(*&)

Despite his words, Kuroda did not go to see Yoruichi right away. Instead, he continued to walk aimlessly and without rest. It was late into the night now, very late.

The moon cast a pale light on the white city and the black specter that was his form roamed it's streets.

He continued his walk, all the while sifting through the words of all those he'd spoken to, of those in the past and what they would have said.

"Father" he whispered to himself, "did you know this would happen to me if I entered the division? Did I not listen to reason?"

He'd never have his answer

Soon, Kuroda's wandering led him back to the small grassy hill that he'd spoken with Komamura on. He sat against the tree's base and gazed on the moon lit fields.

"If you could speak, what would you say about my life?" he asked the elderly tree, "would you say that it has been lived well, or that it's a chaotic mess?"

"Probably somewhere in between,"

Kuroda's eyes widened, he whipped his head around but quickly relaxed when he was the owner of the voice.

"Don't sneak up on me like that," he chided

"Usually I can't," replied Yoruichi as she stalked around the tree, "you always sense me before I come."

"My mind is troubled," he said,

"That much is very clear," Yoruichi said as she sat down next to him, "strange how just a few minutes, can cause an entire day of agony."

"I feel that way every time I speak to you,"

"Yeah…hey!"

"I'm kidding," he said as he dodged a cuff to the head,

"Anyway," started Yoruichi, "you've been thinking haven't you, on Yamamoto's offer."

"I have," he replied, "but the more I think on it, the more the answer seems to slip away from me. The choices are shrouded, I can no longer see the path. It's like I'm blind "

"And you thought that perhaps, I could come," she wrapped her fingers around his, "and guide you through the dark?"

Strangely, Kuroda did not pull away as he usually would have. Instead, he gently caressed the side of her hand with his thumb.

Yoruichi gave him a warm smile, "Kuroda, I cannot lead you to the right path. As cliché as it may sound, this is something you have to do on your own."

"I was afraid you'd say that," he grumbled, "you may have just doomed me to my own ineptness."

"Kuroda, don't put yourself down, we've been over this," scolded the woman, "but you still don't trust yourself to make the right decision. Is that why you're so conflicted over this?"

Kuroda swallowed, "I've made so many decisions. Each time, it's been what I thought was right. Back then, I always knew what I did was the right thing to do. But it always left me in anguish, it always left a festering wound in my heart. Just once, I'd like to make a choice, that doesn't cause me pain, to make a choice that I can smile about."

"If I don't come back, then I will be free of Soul Society. I can stay in the world of the living, I can watch over Ichigo and the others. I can forget about the life I once lived here and I could coordinate efforts outside of Soul Society's restrictions. But if I accept, I can use my status to help in the coming war against Aizen, I can have the life that I had before all of this happened. I can continue to try and change things."

"But will you be happy?"

"What?"

"Will you be happy?" she repeated, "I didn't hear you take into account yourself, what do you want?"

"I want to kill Aizen, then I'll be happy,"

"I don't think that's the only thing you want," said Yoruichi, "I think, somewhere, deep, deep, deep, deep down in there, you'd like to be happy with just life in general instead of killing Aizen. If you stay in Soul Society, and become the Commander of Black Operations, gain the power to command great warriors, and wage war against Aizen. Will you be happy? Will you wake up every day looking forward to what is to come, or will you rise with a heavy heart? Will you be able to enjoy yourself, will you find joy in being what you are? Or does your heart, want to live in the world of the living, where you don't have the power to command, but you can watch over others. Where you can be free from the rules of Soul Society, and live a different life from the one you were forced into. What would make you happy, Kuroda Ryou?"

"…which one will you be in?" he asked softly,

Yoruichi smiled, "why? Trying to avoid me?"

Kuroda, despite himself, smiled as well. Yoruichi pushed herself against her companion, Kuroda made no move to protest. Gradually, she even put her head down on his chest, eyes slowly flickering in and out of sleep.

"Do me one favor," she whispered, "don't think about this too hard, I'll still be there, no matter what you choose."

"What makes you think that I-" Kuroda stopped himself when he realized that Yoruichi had already blissfully fallen asleep, he wondered if she'd planned that.

"You're such a handful," he muttered, then again, he was too admittedly.

Kuroda stared down at the woman on his chest, his eyes lingering for untold amounts of time. At some point, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in a bit further, though he'd never admit it to anyone that it was he who'd put his hand there.

"Sleep well, Yoruichi"

Before long, he too began to slumber.

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The Next Day

"Captain-Commander!" called Lieutenant Saskibe

"what is it?"

"Kuroda Ryou is here, as you said he'd be, shall I let him in?"

"Yes," replied Yamamoto,

Lieutenant Saskibe gave a respectful bow and left through the doors, a few minutes later and Kuroda came in.

"Kuroda, I wasn't expecting you to come so early," said Yamamoto,

"Today's full of surprises," replied Kuroda cheekily,

"Do you have an answer for me?"

"I do"

**End**

**A/N**

**Yeah, cliff hanger! Please don't be mad, but that's just how I wanted to end the chapter. So yeah, been a while since I've updated, I'm real sorry, I've had my hands full with life. School is throwing every sort of dirty trick at me and my mother's being a total…well, you know.**

**So I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I took it as an opportunity to get some of the other OCs screen time. I plan on flushing out the relationship between Kuroda and his Dad later on.**

**As mentioned above, I've been looking at songs that seem like good theme songs for Kuroda.**

**So far, I like Monster by Skillet and Bartholomew by Silent Comedy**

**What about you guys, what do you think?**

**By the way, I've run out of stuff to read, any suggestions?**

**In the next chapters, we'll be finished with Kuroda's soul searching and back to getting the plot moving forward. I feel like I've put a little too much time into this rest period. Anyway, please favorite the story, leave a review, and subscribe.**

**Bye bye!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Hey everyone, I'm so sorry for not updating my story earlier, I was just so busy with school and all. But School is over now and I'm in summer, so I'll be working on my story a lot more from now on. Thank you to all who stayed with the story for such a long time. So without further ado here is the long awaited chapter 28**

Chapter 28

Things start looking up

"I do," said Kuroda,

After a small pause, Yamamoto finally said, "then let me hear it,"

Kuroda let out a deep sigh and walked over to the railing of the Commander's Office. He took a brief moment to look over Seireitei, taking in the sight just in case.

He then turned himself to the Commander and looked him straight in the eye. For a brief moment, the two warriors simply stared in silence as if sharing some unsaid conversation.

"I see," said Yamamoto,

"I'm sorry old man, but you won't be getting Central 46's number 1 butcher back,"

"I feared as much," Yamamoto admitted, turning his gaze back to Seireitei, "but you must have come here knowing that I wouldn't take such an answer."

Kuroda kept his mouth shut, giving the old one a silent affirmation.

"Before we proceed any further," said Yamamoto, "tell me my wayward pupil, what has led you to deny your old position?"

Kuroda also turned back to Seireitei, "I'm not sure,"

The Commander raised one of his long eyebrows,

"Do you know why I decided to enroll in the shinigami academy?" asked Kuroda,

"I never saw fit to ask,"

"Then you don't know that I didn't decide to join the academy, I was forced, at sword point, by my own father," said Kuroda, "but I don't blame him for it, because he gave me more than I deserved."

"He took a scrawny kid with a blade from one of the worst parts of Rukongai and turned him into a respectable shinigami. When I attended the academy, I graduated in very few years, it was almost ridiculous how much better I was."

"When I finally graduated, I wanted only one thing. To use the power I had and help the people of Rukongai. Of course, that was back when I was young, foolish, and idealistic, I hadn't seen what the world was truly like. But even so, that's what I was like and that's what I believed being a shinigami stood for: helping people."

"But as I grew older and raised through the ranks, I began to see what we really are."

"And what are we?" Yamamoto asked with a tinge of anger,

"We are said to be keepers of the balance Yamamoto, protectors of peace, the knights of justice. But all we really are, all the shinigami are, is just another army. The morals that are preached is just propaganda, something to justify the actions we take."

"We are protectors," growled Yamamoto, "we are all that stands in the way of the destruction of the balance."

"And sending me, and my squad, to massacre 500 Quincys, was protection of the balance?"

"Yes,"

"I suppose it was," admitted Kuroda, "but it's not just what we are sent to do, but the people we use to do it."

"Have you seen the 11th division? Thugs all of them, bullies with swords that fight for no other reason than to show that they can. They have no respect for strength and no compassion for the weak."

"And my own squad, the one I led for nearly over two centuries. We were practically purposefully created serial killers."

"It was for the greater good," Yamamoto quietly said,

"This world doesn't need that anymore Yamamoto. I don't pretend that I don't believe that the creation of the Black Ops squad was necessary, I even believe in the same excuse that you used just now. But this world doesn't need more people, who sacrifice for the greater good, the world is in pieces as it is. All we ever did was slap tape on the cracks until it fell apart again."

"No, this world needs good people, people who are both strong and refuse to sacrifice anything for the greater good. People who know how to save everything and still accomplish what must be done. I'm not that person Yamamoto, and I'm certainly never going to become that person. I could never become a good man. But I can guide one and I can help him reach the strength he needs to do what only he can do."

"You are referring to the Ryoka?"

"Ichigo, yes, I believe he is a solution to something that I've been trying to solve for a long time."

"Aizen cannot be defeated by a man like me, history shouldn't have to contain a story of how a monster slew a monster. No, if this world is going to stay together any longer, it needs to be a tale of a knight and a monster, and the knight must win."

"I see, you've resigned yourself as a failure," said Yamamoto, this time with a small drop of disappointment,

"No, not a failure, just a failed experiment," corrected Kuroda, "I cannot guide Ichigo if I am Commander of Black Ops again and I don't want to spend any more time in this painted over prison then I have to."

With his decision made, Kuroda turned towards the door.

"A moment young one," called Yamamoto, unexpectedly Kuroda obeyed, "you remember that I said I would not allow you to say no."

"Are you going to force me?" challenged Kuroda, "threaten the humans, or anyone else and Aizen will be the least of your problems."

"No, but I am going to try something that I have not tried in many years," said Yamamoto as he turned to face Kuroda, "bartering"

"Come again?"

"What would it take, for you to become the Commander of Black Ops again?"

"You are trying to negotiate terms of service, so that I will come back and take my old job?" asked Kuroda, "just how desperate are you old man?"

"Soul Society is at war, Three of the Gotei 13 have turned traitor, Aizen now holds one of the most powerful objects in the world, and is quite possibly building an army of Arrancar, I am very desperate Kuroda. That is why I come to you,"

"Hm" Kuroda walked back to the railing and leaned against it, "I suppose if the right conditions were given, I could bare working for you again."

"Name them and if it is in my power, I will grant it to you."

Kuroda allowed himself a smirk, for once things might just go his way.

*( #%&**( #&%^( *#&%^*( #%^ )#%*^) #^%) #*^%) #*%^) #)%*(^))

"Did you bang her?"

"Why is that always the first question you ask me after I've gone on a date with Soi Fon?" asked Rajin, as he moved a black chess piece, his opponent Keiji quietly observing.

Kaito took a large gulp of his sake bottle, the replied, "because I wanna mark the day you man up and give it to her good."

"Like you give it to Rangiku?"

"Exactly!"

"So did you bang her last night?"

"Well, no," admitted Kaito, "she was drunk-"

"She's always drunk" Rajin pointed out as he watched Keiji make his own move,

"Well she was really drunk" said Kaito, "so I didn't want to take advantage of her."

"That was the gentlemanly thing to do Kaito," said 5th seat Itsumi from the other side of their table,

"Yeah yeah, whatever," he muttered, taking another swing of his sake, "So what about you big guy?"

"Hm?"

"Come on Teruno, how are you and the old ball and chain?" asked Kaito,

Teruno stayed silent, then said, "I am unfamiliar with this phrase."

"Ugh," groaned Kaito, slamming his palm into his face, "how is your family?"

"They are fine," he replied taking a sip from his tea cup,

"Have any more kids?"

"No, still just three," he replied again,

"You suck at conversations, you know that?"

"I apologize,"

"God damn it!"

"Leave him alone Kaito," ordered Rajin, "if Teruno doesn't want to talk, then don't make him."

"Fine, whatever," said Kaito, "how about you Keiji?"

"What about me?" asked the 6th seat as he examined an expensive looking necklace he'd swiped from some random noble who'd been stupid enough to go around flaunting all his expensive things and moved another of his chess pieces.

"You find true love like me and Rajin yet?"

"Haven't had time for it," replied Keiji,

"Uh huh, sure, I believe you. I totally don't think it's because you're a shorty,"

"Yeah I, hey what? Shorty?" Keiji suddenly dived over the table to tackle the 3rd seat. He could handle a lot of insults, but nobody insulted his height!

Teruno sighed, "Bakudo no.63: Sajo Sabaku"

A bright yellow chain burst out from Teruno's sleeve, like a great snake it wrapped itself around Keiji's body and tightly pulled his limbs together, completely immobilizing him.

"What the-, come on Teruno! Let me at him, 5 minutes, just give me 5 minutes!" demanded Keiji,

"Haha!" laughed Kaito, "nice try shorty!"

Keiji fumed at Kaito's continued taunts, struggled even harder against his restraints as Kaito kept laughing.

"Was it really necessary to use such a high level kido?" asked Itsumi,

"I'm afraid so," replied Teruno as he sipped his tea, "anything lower would have done next to nothing in restraining a member of our division."

"You know," said Itsumi, "I've always wondered, can we really be called a division? I mean there's only 6 of us. We're more like a squad, or a team."

Teruno shrugged, then continued sipping his tea.

"Knock it off Kaito," warned Rajin as he dragged the still flailing Keiji back to his seat.

"Alright, sorry, jeez, I won't call him shorty anymore, promise," he said, though it was obvious he didn't mean it, "even if he really is a-"

"Hado no.31: Shakkaho"

A red ball of energy shot out from Teruno's hand and crashed right into Kaito's face, knocking out of his chair and onto the floor.

A second later, Kaito dragged himself up, rubbing his face which had been blackened from the kido attack.

"What the hell Teruno?" he growled, "what was that for?"

"To shut you up," replied the big man,

"You could have killed me man!"

"I didn't put much power behind it, it was meant only as a warning,"

"Ugh," Kaito slammed his face down on the table, "none of you are any fun."

"Do you think I should use the chemical that burns through flesh or clogs up the blood?" asked Itsumi as she showed Keiji a recipe chart,

"I don't know," replied Keiji, shrugging off that this sweet looking women was talking about dangerous chemicals, "why don't you use both?"

"Hm, not a bad idea," she decided, scribbling that note down.

It was just then that Kuroda entered the room, every one of the division members sat up immediately.

"Hey honey!" said Itsumi

"Hey Kuroda" said Kaito and Rajin

"Hello Commander," said Teruno and Keiji,

"Hey guys," replied Kuroda, "sorry to disturb, just looking for my office. It's been so long that I've forgotten which way it is."

"It's down the hall at the second left turn," answered Keiji,

"Thanks," as he Kuroda turned away, Kaito asked, "wait, did you say your office?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I took my job back," answered Kuroda, with that he slid the door close and walked away,

"Oh, okay then," said Kaito, taking another swig from his sake jar,

Teruno sipped his tea cup,

Itsumi kept scribbling notes down,

Rajin and Keiji kept playing chess,

Then,

"WAIT, WHAT!"

( #()%& #(%*& )#(%&* )#&*(%) #(&*%_ #&(%_ #(%_ (#*%) #*(%) )

_About an Hour ago_

"Let's see, what do I want?" Kuroda asked himself, "well, for a start, being able to operate from the world of the living would be nice."

"Operate from the world of the living?" questioned Yamamoto, "why would you wish to do that?"

"To be quite honest, I simply like it there better,"

"Hmm, I suppose I could allow that. It would be a tactical advantage to have you in the world of the living should Aizen make a move. Is there anything else?"

"Only one old man," started Kuroda, "the only other thing I want, is for my status as Black Ops commander to remain off the records."

"That is already a given,"

"No, you don't understand. I don't want just the regular shinigami to not know about me, I want my status hidden even from Central 46, as far as they should be concerned, I'm just a helpful exile,"

"You are asking me to lie to my superiors?"

"Not lie Yamamoto, just withhold information," corrected Kuroda, "you and I both know that if a new central 46 is created, they'll use the Black Ops commander just like the last one. You really want that to happen?"

Yamamoto remained silent, the asked a question of his own, "If you operate from the world of the living, who will be in charge of operations in Soul Society."

"Rajin can be my representative, or whatever ranking officer is there at the moment," answered Kuroda, "they all know what I'd do, they'll be up to the task."

Yamamoto sighed and turned to Kuroda, "you aren't asking for much, I suppose I should be grateful. Yet at the same time, you ask much of me."

"No more, then you are asking from me," Kuroda shot back, "you want me to be a butcher again? Fine, but I'll be a butcher on my terms."

Yamamoto nodded, turning back to Seireitei, "I'll have the paperwork filled out and delivered to your division."

Kuroda nodded back, then spun on his heel and walked out.

( #)( #*%&)( #*%& )#(*%& )#(&*% )#(&%_ #%&_ #&% )#%&_)

Standing in his office, Kuroda couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic.

It was exactly the way he'd left it. There was a wooden desk in the middle of the room and two oil lams right above it on both sides. Behind the desk was a simple wooden chair with a black cushion on it for some small amount of comfort. To the right of the room was a line of book shelves, all lined with dozens of books, scrolls, and other such important texts.

To the left of his office, was his room.

Kuroda noiselessly walked to the door leading to his room, his hand reached out hesitantly, then grabbed the handle. But for some reason, he couldn't use it to slide the door open.

He took in a deep breath and tried again.

Still couldn't do it, his hand simply refused to open that door.

"Damn it," he muttered, letting his hand drop. He'd made this decision, he'd decided to go back, so why was he questioning himself now? Back there, in the 1st division, talking to Yamamoto, he'd felt so sure. Now he found he couldn't even open the door, to his own damn quarters!

"So you decided to take your job back"

Kuroda whipped around, hand on AnShen's hilt. But his hand quickly slid away as he saw the owner of the voice.

Yoruichi sauntered into his lightless office, her eyes skimming over the contents of the room.

"You know I don't think I've ever seen your office before," she commented as she walked towards his desk, "not bad, but it could use some more light."

"We're underground," he pointed out,

"I know, still doesn't change the fact that it could use more light," she replied, settling herself in his chair then crossing her legs.

"So, I guess you'll be staying when it's time for us to go?" she said, her cheerfulness a mask for something else.

"No actually,"

Yoruichi perked up, "Oh?"

"I worked a few things out with Yamamoto, he's allowing me to be the Commander, but I can operate from the world of the living."

"That's good news, I just got used to seeing you again. Would be a shame for that to end so quickly," she said nonchalantly,

"Hm," grunted Kuroda,

"Is that your room over there?" she asked, pointing at the door he'd previously tried to open,

"Yeah," he replied,

"Aren't you gonna go in?"

"I…don't feel like it right now," he replied, "I was just going to go and look through my old records first, then-"

"Why do you always lie to me,"

Kuroda was silent, "how long were you there?"

"I saw all of it Kuroda,"

Kuroda let out a heavy sigh, that was the last thing he needed right now. He slumped to the ground, leaning against the door that led to his old room.

Yoruichi slumped down next to him.

"What's wrong this time?" she asked carefully,

"Nothing," he murmured, "I just need a moment,"

"You've had enough problems this week for me to know that that's not true," said Yoruichi, "please just be honest with me this one time."

The dark skinned woman leaned against her friend and placed her head on his shoulder while reaching a comforting hand around him.

"Please, just once,"

Kuroda hesitated, "I don't know, something just won't let me in."

"Hmm, seems there's a lot wrong with your head," said Yoruichi, "I leave you alone for a century, and this is what happens."

"It's not your fault,"

Yoruichi raised a skeptical brow,

"Well it's partially your fault," corrected Kuroda, Yoruichi nodded with grim satisfaction, "but I the damage would have been done without you."

"That's, a little comforting, I think,"

There was a small pause before Kuroda asked, "am I crazy?"

"Probably, it would explain a lot,"

Kuroda pushed himself a bit closer to Yoruichi, letting her body heat mix with his.

"This place," he started, "so many memories, so many bodies."

"Are you afraid?" she whispered into his ear.

Kuroda's eyes widened, "of course not,"

"Are you sure?" she asked,

Kuroda was about to respond, but like the door, something stopped him. Still, the idea that fear stopped him from opening that damned door was preposterous. He had felt fear before, many times, but he'd always converted that fear into a fuel, a fuel to push on.

But, he had to admit, when he reached over to that door, he felt a sort of eerie coldness travel down his hand. Even now, as he pressed his back to the door, he felt it's chill creep into his bones. The pure thought of that cold made him pull Yoruichi closer into him.

Perhaps he did have some fear of this room, but why? He had always confronted his fears with no problem before, now should have been no different. Had his time in exile made him soft?

"What were you like before Kuroda?" asked Yoruichi, interrupting his thoughts, "what was it like for you in this room?"

Kuroda paused, then replied, "I was a professional murderer, nothing more."

"Do you want to be a professional murderer again?" she asked,

"No," he said immediately, "never again."

Yoruichi smiled brightly, "Come on, get up"

Together the two of them stood up, Yoruichi gestured Kuroda towards the door handle. Kuroda took in a deep breath, raised his hand, and reached.

As his finger closed around the grip, his hand began to shake. Kuroda pulled his hand back as though the handle had become a venomous snake, damn it! He hated when his body betrayed him like this, worse, he didn't even know why it was happening.

"You are afraid," said Yoruichi,

"No! I'm not," he growled,

"Then why can't you open it?"

"Because….because, I don't know," he admitted,

Kuroda let out a disgusted snort, then turned away and walked out. Yoruichi watched him go with an ache in her heart. It seemed that no matter how many times she managed to help him out of one problem, another would arise to take its place.

She ground her teeth, it wasn't fair! Kuroda may not have been an angel, but he was a good person at heart and he always meant well. Why did this have to happen to him? He didn't deserve such pain.

Though she wasn't one to normally go through another's personal belongings, Yoruichi decided that perhaps some of the old records around here would answer her questions.

She started with the book shelves, meticulously check each scroll, book, or note. Much of it was very old, but in amazingly good condition.

She found a variety of things in her search for an answer. Many records of recruitment, files on previous Commanders, some special events. Strangely enough, she didn't find any mission files.

Yoruichi cursed under her breath, she should have expected as much though. This was Black Operations, they certainly wouldn't have their most confidential things simply lying around for anyone to pick up. She moved on to Kuroda's desk, searching through the drawers, she found a couple more files, but mostly on renovations and monthly updates on the psychological status of the squad.

As she sifted through the files, she managed to stumble onto Kuroda's file. It must've been before he'd become Commander, because the picture used in the profile was of a younger Kuroda.

She hastily opened up the file and began to read.

Name: Kuroda Ryou

Rank: 3rd Seat

Zanpaktou mastery level: Bankai

Summary: Born in Rukongai's lower districts, is a known murderer at an early age. Subject exhibits a fierce devotion to non-blood related father, Taiju Ryou. Subject also exhibits complete obedience to orders given, is also known to be brutally efficient and extremely powerful. Subject attained highest honors and marks in the academy.

Note: Subject seems to grow in power at a regular rate

Subject has what is best described as controlled blood lust, subject is also known to be cheerful at times. Subject has brought in two other members.

Yoruichi skipped over a few parts until something caught her eye.

Analysis Update: Commander Kuroda Ryou

Subject's eyes have been seen darting around and are noticeably redder than usual. Suggests either paranoia, lack of sleep, or guilt, evidence suggests the first or second. Subject is also seen to have growing dark rings around eyes, evidence that supports belief of lack of sleep.

Subject is also seen talking to himself at times, possibly side effect of the death of father Taiju Ryou. Other members have reported saying that they hear loud noises at night, most likely from nightmares. Other members have also noted a particular drop in the subject's happiness, they have been quoted saying that subject no longer smiles.

Note: The mirror in subject's room was found broken, possible suggestion of depression and suicidal thoughts.

Subject is suggested for psychological therapy

Subject has refused any sort of therapy and has been known to respond violently if therapy is continuously encouraged.

The profile ended there, Yoruichi could have decided that she'd found the answer right there. According to this, Kuroda had started to become crazy after his father died. But she felt like there was something more, something that this profile wasn't telling her.

She went back to through the profiles and pulled out all the files of deceased members.

After a few moments of organizing, she found those who'd served at the same time that Kuroda, Kaito and Rajin had, including Taiju. A few moments of analysis, and Yoruichi came up with a bone chilling discovery.

Before Kuroda had become Commander, there had been 10 members of the Black Ops division, which meant 7 besides Kuroda, Kaito and Rajin.

5 of the members, including Kuroda's father, had died in a single night.

( (#^ )(#*%&) #*(&%) (#*&% )(#*&% )(#*&%) #&*%) *(#&%)(* #&)%)%& #)

"Time to celebrate!" announced Kaito, dropping a large jar of sake onto the table,

"Where did you even get that much?"

"I have my sources," Kaito said cockily, "but that's a story for another time, right now, we must celebrate the return of our great Commander!"

"I'm going to bed," said Teruno,

"hey, come back!" protested Kaito as the large black man left the room, "well we don't need him, let's all drink till we drop!"

"Kaito, you do remember that Kuroda as Commander placed rules against the unnecessarily large amount of alcohol consumption, right?"

"uh….yes?"

Rajin sighed, "Kaito, I worry about you sometimes, I really do."

"I'll have some," said Itsumi,

"That's the spirit!" cheered Kaito, pouring the purple haired lady a cup, "how about you Keiji,"

"Well, a little bit couldn't hurt," decided the 6th seat,

"Oh boy, Kuroda's first order as Commander is going to be to give all of you punishments," sighed Rajin,

It was just then that Kuroda stepped into the room, "Do I smell alcohol?"

Kaito, who was in mid-drink, nearly choked on the firey liquid as he tried to quickly down it before Kuroda could see it in his hand.

"Commander! *Cough* Uh, we were just talking about you, and how we're so glad that you've come back!"

"Is that sake?" questioned Kuroda,

Kaito let out a small yelp of fear as he saw that he'd forgotten to hide his very large jar of sake and that both Keiji and Itsumi were still holding their cups.

"Uh…well…you see, they're actually-"

"It's sake," said Rajin,

"Damn you blondie!" Kaito quietly cursed,

Kuroda walked over to the table, Kaito began to sweat bullets. Kuroda picked up the jar, Kaito now feared for his precious sake. Kuroda opened it up, Kaito now feared it being wasted.

Kuroda poured some into a cup, picked up the cup and chugged the substance down. He then put the cup down, turned back to the door and walked out.

"Clean up when you're done," he called as he left,

A few seconds passed and Kaito fell to the floor, he truly felt like he'd just dodged a bullet.

Rajin for his part, stared slack jawed at Kaito, "how the heck aren't you in trouble?"

Kaito quickly regained his cocky attitude and said, "pure skill!"

"Looked more like dumb luck," commented Keiji,

"Shut up!"

Kuroda exited his division's barracks a few minutes later.

'His division', he mused, he could finally say that again, though it felt strange to do so.

He needed to take a walk, he usually preferred to do so when it was dark and no one could bother him, but right now, he just needed to take a walk.

Kuroda's walk eventually took him to the 11th division, he hadn't seen Ichigo for a while now and he had decided that now was good time to check up on the kid.

As he entered the 11th division's courtyard, he overheard a particularly interesting conversation.

"The time after you get injured and then heal up is called recuperation, too dumbass!"

"No it's not!" argued Ichigo,

"Oh yeah? Then what is it called smart guy?"

"It's called…look I don't know!"

Kuroda suddenly felt very embarrassed for the boy,

"See, you don't know! Go back to school and learn Japanese!"

"What'd you say? What about you, nothing goes into your shiny bald head, it just bounces right off!"

"Eh! Alright then! Let's fight and whoever wins is right!"

"Fine! Bring it on, I'll show you that Japanese is my best subject!"

There was the distinct sound of bokken smacking against each other, then the sound of subordinates greeting their Captain, which meant Kenpachi…uh oh.

His fear was founded when the sound of an explosion, followed by cries of fear echoed into the air.

"I'm never fighting you again you maniac!" screamed Ichigo as he sprinted for his life out of the barracks,

Kuroda watched him run off right passed him

"I suppose I should go after him, "he muttered,

"Hey look!" yelled Yachiru, "it's Kooky! Maybe you can fight him Kenny!"

"Uh oh," Kuroda ran right after Ichigo,

( #%*& #*(%^)*#&% )#(*& #%&*() #&%)#&%()* #&)%)

There was only one last place Yoruichi could check.

She reached for the door that had frightened Kuroda and opened it. Inside, she found nothing particularly scary.

There was a neatly made bed on the middle of the ground, a couple more shelves holding books on the far side, and a large dresser.

Everything seemed quite normal, key word: seemed. This was the Black Ops divison, nothing was normal about it.

Though no one was around, she quietly tip toed into the room, towards the dresser. As soon as she reached it, she flung it open. Inside was mostly empty, save for a single black shirt that looked quite akin to what the 2nd division members wore, she noticed on the back of the shirt some kanji were written.

She carefully shifted it so that she could read: 審判 shipan,戦うtatakau, 飢饉kikin, 死因shiin.

That was strange, she wasn't quite sure what meaning it had, but other than the shirt there was nothing here.

Yoruichi sighed in disappointment, she turned around ready to end her search, when her foot suddenly went right through the floor.

She let out a small yelp but soon found stable footing under the floor.

"What the-"she pulled her leg out of the ground, then got down to examine the hole she'd unintentionally created.

She reached down into the hole and found that she could touch paper, rows and rows of it neatly organized.

She examined the floor boards around the hole and found that there was a definite outline, she also found that an entire section was completely separate from the actual floor itself.

Carefully running her finger along the ground, she found a small yet noticeable imperfection in the leveling of the boards and used that to lift the sectioned off boards up.

"Tricky" she complimented, "though not entirely original."

Looking down into the now much larger hole, she found that there were actually four sets of drawers, one for each side of the square section.

She reached down and pulled out the first set of drawers, it was filled to the brim with papers and files. Yoruichi picked one out at random and brought it up to her eyes, she smiled, jackpot. Just what she had been looking for, mission files and records, now she could find her answer.

( #*&%() *#& )(#*%&)( #&*%) #&%)%_ #_%#_ % #% _%#))_ #%_#%)

"You know Ichigo, you really worry me sometimes,"

"Shut up Kuroda, I don't see you for a whole day and this is the first thing you say to me?" huffed Ichigo as he tried to catch his breath,

"Why on earth were you even in the 11th division? You should know by now what Kenpachi is like," continued Kuroda,

"yeah, whatever," said Ichigo,

"Ichigo,"

"Hm?"

"I need to talk to you," said Kuroda,

"Oh, okay, what about?"

"Come with me,"

A few minutes later, Kuroda led them to the top of Soukyoku hill.

"Whoa, this is really nice view, you know I never really got to take it in while I was over here saving Rukia, but this place really is beautiful,"

"Ichigo, focus for a second,"

"Alright, well what is it? What do we need to talk about?"

Kuroda silently walked out to the edge of the hill and stared out, "Aizen"

"Aizen? You mean that Captain who turned traitor?"

"Yes, him,"

"What about him?"

"Ichigo, I know you don't really owe Soul Society any loyalty and I know that given current events you most likely don't have the highest opinion of it either. But the truth is, Aizen is a major threat not just to this place but most likely to the world of the living as well."

"I need to know Ichigo, if I ask you to do so, will you help fight Aizen,"

"Of course I will,"

Kuroda furrowed his eyebrows then turned to the young man, "that was quick"

"Heh, I don't know what you're saying, 'don't owe any loyalty, don't have high opinion', I was planning to fight Aizen anyway, you don't need to ask me to," said Ichigo, "it's true that I don't really like this place, especially after what they almost did to Rukia. But that bastard Aizen, I can tell he's going to be trouble even if I didn't fight him. Besides, he almost killed Rukia, I've got to make him pay."

"Hm, I see," said Kuroda, "very well then, when we return to the world of the living, I'll continue your training."

"Huh? Training?"

"Yeah, training, you need to get stronger,"

"But, I've already achieved Bankai, is there something more that I need to do?"

"You idiot, just because you've got Bankai doesn't mean your invincible, do you even remember how the fight between you and Aizen went?"

"Well, yeah," said Ichigo as he fell to memory, "the difference between us was…monstrous."

"Exactly, you were like an ant to him. Worse, you didn't even have enough strength to even defeat Byakuya,"

"What? But I did beat-"

"Did you really Ichigo?" questioned Kuroda, "did you really beat Byakuya with your own strength?"

Ichigo cast his eyes down, the truth was he really didn't. That thing, that hollow inside of him, had taken over just when Byakuya would have killed him, then nearly won the fight for him. Then there was the fact that Byakuya himself wasn't fully sure on whether or not he should have been fighting Ichigo, which had weakened his resolve to win.

"You gained bankai in an amount of time I hadn't thought possible and you have grown much stronger since you came here, I will give you that much," said Kuroda, "but you still have a long way to go, before you can truly fight with the strongest there are."

Ichigo nodded, "alright Kuroda, when we get back, we'll train."

"Good, we'll start as soon as" Kuroda trailed off,

Ichigo, noticing that his eyes were staring at something behind him, turned to see what it was, he found that Kuroda had spotted Yoruichi walking up the hill, her eyes lacking her usual cheerfulness and energy.

"Ichigo," said Kuroda, "leave"

"Alright," Ichigo immediately began walking down the hill, sparing a glance to Yoruichi as they passed one another, she did not look happy.

Kuroda too notice of the same thing, he had a bad feeling that she'd just found out something that she really wasn't supposed to find out.

When she finally reached him, she gave him a long stare that was full of pity.

"Something I can help you with?" he asked,

Wordlessly, Yoruichi extended her hand, revealing that she was holding what looked to be a file. Kuroda took the file and opened it.

He let out a sigh, she'd found it.

"why didn't you ever tell me?" she asked,

"Tell you what?"

"This!" she yelled, grabbing the file and shaking it in front of his face, "this right here! The reason why you're so messed up in the head!"

"Would you have preferred to have known that I was murderer as well as a butcher?" he asked coldly, "would that have given you comfort?"

"It's not about if it would have given me comfort Kuroda! It's about telling me the truth! For these last few days, I've been trying to help you, to reach out to you! Why? Because you're my friend and I care about you, but through it all you never told me this one thing! I would have been there for you Kuroda, I would have stayed!"

Kuroda felt a small needle of strong emotion pierce his heart, but he kept his face unfeeling.

"What do you want from me?" he asked,

"I want the truth," she said, "and I want to hear it from your own mouth."

Kuroda hesitated, but finally said, "Fine, you want the truth? I'll give you the truth."

"In one night I murdered my entire division, I killed my Commander, I killed my comrades, I killed everyone, I even killed my own father"

**A/N**

**Well, there you go, first chapter in a really long time. I hope you liked it, it was a bit shorter than my usual chapters and I apologize for that.**

**But yeah, tell me what you think, I'm eager to hear what you have to say about Kuroda's secret.**

**If you go back to the beginning, I do believe I've hinted at this before.**

**I'll hopefully update soon, but no promises on a deadline.**

**Anyway, OC submissions are still open, right now I could really use some Arrancar fraccion, no more Shinigami characters.**

**Please review, subscribe, favorite and share!**

**Bye Bye!**

**審判 ****shipan - Judgement**

**戦う****tatakau - War**

**飢饉****kikin – Famine**

**死因****shiin – Death**


	29. Chapter 29

**What's up, here's the next chapter. Hope you guys like it.**

Chapter 29

Patricide messes with your head

Many years ago, Seireitei, Black Ops underground garden

BOOM!

"Son of a-"

CRASH! Right through a tree

"Mother fuc-"

CRASH! Through another tree

"Cow herding-"

CRASH! Another tree

"Old-"

CRASH! That was the wall this time.

"Ugh," groaned Kuroda as he tried to check as how many bones he'd broken this time, though that was incredibly hard to do considering he was now stuck in the rock wall of the cavern.

"I don't know how much more of this I can take," he muttered to himself and he dislodged his right arm,

"You're going to take as much as I say you're going to take!" roared Taiju, the lieutenant of Black Ops suddenly appeared in the air with his sword raised above his head, ready to slice Kuroda right down the middle.

"Oh shit!" he cursed, quickly pulling himself out of the wall and raising AnShen

The two blades crashed against each other with a horrid screech of metal, Taiju laughed as he broke away, "still got some fight in you huh? You can always quit!"

"I'll quit when you're in the ground old man!" growled Kuroda, **"Unleash Chaos: AnShen!"**

Kuroda's zanpaktou unleashed a mighty burst of red reiatsu, enveloping both itself and Kuroda. When the red curtain was drawn away, AnShen had morphed into a 4ft long red blade with a cold black grip.

"Heh, calling to your zanpaktou already? I haven't even broken your arm yet! Fine, if that's the way we're gonna play," Taiju stretched out his zanpaktou, **"Charge: Shintou Mori!"**

Taiju's zanpaktou similarly released a burst of blue reiatsu that completely obscured him from Kuroda's view. A moment later and the reiatsu dissipated. Taiju now held an 8 foot long lance, the entire thing was a giant solid piece of metal with a sharpened head at both ends and two hand guards.

"Let's go!" Taiju charged for with Shintou Mori leading the way, Kuroda raised AnShen and blocked the attack though it pushed him back and shoved him into the wall.

A moment later and an incredible explosion enveloped him,

"What an idiot," laughed Taiju, "he should know by now that the special impact oil coating my Shintou Mori makes blocking impossible."

A few seconds passed as Taiju waited for the cloud of dust to blow away.

"Oi, kid! You still alive in there?"

"**Shino Kabe!"**

Taiju's eyes widened as he felt the black wave of death descend upon him; he whipped around just in time to see the hundred damned souls coming right at him.

"Tricky little bastard," Taiju smirked, he thrust out Shintou Mori's head right into the wall of death, the wave exploded, leaving him completely unharmed.

"Rah!" Kuroda growled as he burst through the smoke, swing AnShen to decapitate his foster father.

"Heh" Taiju gripped the handle of his lance with both hands and swung the back head towards Kuroda, nearly catching the boy off guard.

Nearly.

Kuroda through up AnShen at the last minute, blocking what could have been a nasty blow to the head.

"What's the matter old man? Aren't you gonna blow me up?" asked Kuroda, Taiju was silent, "Oh that's right, only head on collisions set it off"

"Cocky brat," muttered Taiju, without warning he struck out with his right foot, catching Kuroda right in the ribs.

The single blow sent Kuroda tumbling across the cavern floor.

"Crap," cursed Kuroda as he pushed himself up,

"The zanpaktou isn't the only weapon a shinigami has," scolded Taiju,

Kuroda growled and shot forth,

"**Shibou Ryuu!"**

He swung his sword and let loose a hellish missile aimed right for his father.

Taiju met the charge head on and thrust Shintou Mori forward; its head struck the missile and blew it to smithereens.

'Here he comes'

As predicted, Kuroda came bursting out of the smoke.

"You're getting too predictable kid!" Taiju swung his lance just as he had before, only this time Kuroda ducked under the attack.

Up came Kuroda's knee, right into Taiju's jaw. The blow sent the lieutenant rocketing up towards the ceiling, then crashing back down into the ground.

Taiju emerged from the dust rubbing his jaw, "not bad"

"Tired old man?" taunted Kuroda,

"Heh," Taiju pushed himself up from the dirt, "what the he'll are you talking about? I'm just getting warmed up!"

"Bring it!"

The two charged with epic zeal on their face as they anticipated their clash.

!

"Ah! Son of a-, Mom!"

"Itsumi!"

"Lunch time!" she called,

"Oh, okay, was kind of getting hungry anyway," said Kuroda, sealing his zanpaktou back,

"Yeah, me too, wailing on you works up an appetite," agreed Taiju,

"Shut up old man," growled Kuroda as they walked back,

"Mind your elders," Taiju shot back,

A few seconds of silence, "wonder what you're mom made,"

( (#%( #)&%() #&*%() #*& #*%_#*(%_)# ) #_%*(_#%*_))# %(*&)_)

"Mmm, coconut shrimp, my favorite," complimented Taiju as he stuffed another of those heavenly golden suckers into his mouth, "amazing as always dear."

"Don't talk with your mouth full dear," scolded Itsumi,

"Sorry,"

Kuroda snickered at his father as he ate his own food.

"You have no right to laugh young man, you are just as bad, look at how messy your side of the table is," pointed out Itsumi,

Kuroda blushed slightly, "sorry mom,"

"Just clean it up later Kuroda or you'll be doing your fathers chores in addition to your own,"

Kuroda gaped, Taiju snickered.

( #&%* #&(%^*(# &&^ #%*(&%^*(#%&(( #%)(* %&) #)(*%&)

"I need to go see the Commander," said Taiju, "I'll see you later kid,"

"Sure thing and stop calling me kid,"

"Sure kid," mocked Taiju as he walked away,

"Stupid old man," smirked Kuroda as he too left, as he walked through the streets of Seireitei, he asked himself, "what should I do today? It's been pretty slow the whole week, no missions at all."

"And just what is wrong with no missions?" asked a voice,

He looked up to see Kaito, lounging about lazily on top of a wall. "No missions means more time to relax, drink, and meet nice girls."

Kuroda chuckled, "uh huh, emphasis on girls"

"But of course," said Kaito, sitting up, "what is the life of a man without women to comfort him."

"Oh do tell," Kuroda said sarcastically, of course Kaito took it literally,

"Of course I will," said Kaito, jumping down, "Women are the greatest thing in the world. For example, they are such fun to look at, especially when they're smoking hot! Remember that blond I saw last night?"

"How could I forget,"

"Yeah, nice body on that one. She had great legs, perfect shape, nice and slender. Her waist, fit, flat, got the curves in the right places. Face, a little on the pale side, but pretty good. Then there were her boobs, a little shy, but she makes it work. Don't you just love staring at their little valleys, wondering what it would be like to touch all of that?"

"Every day," lied Kuroda,

"Don't they just ignite the fire in you?" asked Kaito, a little lost in his own fantasy realm,

"Mmhmm, I'm sure they ignite something in you," chuckled Kuroda, "whatever happened to the girl anyway?"

"Oh, well, she took me back to her division's barracks and we ban-"

"Okay, okay, I get it, you're a big studly man whore," Kuroda quickly said,

"Yeah I'm a, I'm a what?"

"Man whore," repeated Kuroda, "that's what I call guys who sleep around with a whole bunch of women,"

"Why don't you just use stud?" asked Kaito,

"Because that implies congratulations, which I do not wish to give you," answered Kuroda,

"Aw whatever, you're just jealous that I'm getting all the girls while you're still stuck on one," teased Kaito,

"I'm not stuck on anyone,"

"Sure, I totally believe you," Kaito replied, voice dripping with sarcasm, "I so don't believe that you're in love with a certain purple haired cat girl."

"Kaito, I'm warning you"

"Kuroda and Yoruichi, sitting in a tree," sang Kaito, "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Alright that's it, come here!" Kuroda lunged for Kaito and caught him in a headlock, "take it back! Take it back!"

"Aggggh" chocked Kaito, "I tagh iggght baghk!"

"Good," said Kuroda, releasing his prisoner,

Kaito sucked in a huge breath of air before let out a loud and rather dramatic gasp, "jeez dude, you've got an arm!"

"You asked for it," pointed out Kuroda,

"Yeah, I suppose, but seriously man," said Kaito, regaining his devilish glint, "when are you and Yoruichi going to…"

"going to what?" asked Kuroda, though he dreaded the answer,

"You know," smiled Kaito, he put his hands out in front of him and began to thrust his pelvis forward,

"What the hell are you doing?" asked a new voice,

Both of them turned, to see Rajin walking down the street.

"Oh, Rajin!" called out Kaito, "I was just asking Kuroda when he was going to do this, to Yoruichi."

"And Kuroda wishes you wouldn't," said Kuroda,

"I'm in agreement with Kuroda," said Rajin, "there isn't any need for the visual."

"Fine, I'll stop," conceded Kaito, "ooh, look at that hottie,"

Kuroda and Rajin reluctantly turned to the direction that Kaito was pointing. He was pointing at an admittedly attractive female shinigami who seemed to be perusing the wares of one of the local stands selling what looked to be jewelry.

"What do you think?" asked Kaito, "she is F-I-N-E! Don't you think?"

"She's pretty," admitted Rajin,

"Sure," said Kuroda,

"What would you give her?"

"We are not rating the women we see Kaito," growled Kuroda,

"I'd give her, a B+" said Kaito, completely ignoring his friend, "I mean just look at her, velvety brown hair. Skin that's not too tanned and not too pale. Pretty good figure, pretty good boobs, nice butt too. Man, I wish the girl's uniforms showed a little more skin! Can barely see anything in those shihakusho."

"And yet you somehow managed to determine all of that," commented Rajin,

"Hey, look at that one!" said Kaito, pointing in a new direction,

With a sigh, Rajin and Kuroda turned to see.

"You guys see that dark haired beauty over there with the green eyes?"

"Yes," they both said,

"She's definitely got it going on," drooled Kaito, "definitely,"

"I will never get used to this," muttered Rajin, "I seriously think we should take some time to look for a therapist."

"It would never work," said Kuroda,

"Screw you guys, the only problem I have, is that I'm a man!" proclaimed Kaito, "I've been trying to help you two with your problem, but I just can't do it for some reason. Remember that one time I tried to hook the two of you up with those two girls?"

"Unfortunately yes," replied Rajin,

"You two totally ran off from them!"

"We had an emergency mission," Kuroda pointed out,

"Detail details, point is you two passed up two very nice ladies, both of whom I had to take back and comfort…all…night…long," Kaito said dreamily,

"My heart aches for you," mocked Rajin,

"It should, because I-whoa!"

"Kaito, we are not going to look at another-" Rajin was interrupted when Kaito grabbed his head and forced him to turn,

"Look at her!" Kaito was now staring at a very voluptuous female shinigami. She had strawberry blonde hair that reached just past her shoulders, icy blue eyes, full lips, and an almost impossibly perfect hourglass figure. She also seemed aware that her god given assets were much larger than most women because she wore her shihakusho very exposed. Kaito was quite literally drooling.

"I think she might have broken him," said Rajin as he attempted to push out of Kaito's hands,

"She is a goddess made flesh," Kaito whispered, "I must go talk to her!"

With that, the wild man went running towards the woman.

"Talk? Usually he says something else," noted Kuroda,

"This'll be interesting," commented Rajin,

"Is Kaito getting another girl?"

Kuroda turned around and immediately found something large, soft, and round shoved into his face.

"What the-"he suddenly fell under the weight of another person piggy backing on him,

"Hey now, I'm not that heavy," said Yoruichi,

"Why must you do this to me?" asked Kuroda,

"Well, obviously because it's fun," answered the dark skinned woman as she hopped off,

"Hello Yoruichi,"

"Hey Rajin, how've you and Soi Fon been getting along?" she asked,

"Oh, um" Rajin blushed and adjusted his glasses, "we've been doing fine."

"Glad to hear it," said Yoruichi

"Why are you here anyway?" asked Kuroda as he got back to his feet,

"I can't just come to see you?"

"…just, just answer my question," stuttered Kuroda,

"Hm, well, I came to give you this," Yoruichi held out a sheet of paper,

"What is it?"

"Take it and read it,"

He did, cautiously, though what he read was not exactly comforting.

It read: _Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at the Lake near the Shihouin residence, usually around 8:00 AM or 9:00 PM_

"What is this?" he asked,

"Just my bathing schedule, I use the lake near my family's manor. I prefer it to the family bath house" she explained,

"And just why are you giving me this?" asked Kuroda, though he instantly wished he hadn't,

"Well, so you can spy on me and see me naked," she replied,

"What?"

"I'll just leave," said Rajin, who wanted to get out of the way of any explosions,

"Why on earth would I have any interest in that?" his face blushing madly,

"Oh don't be such a prude Kuroda. A hot young woman is inviting you to feat your eyes upon her body. Besides, it's perfectly normal for guys to jump at a chance like this, take Kaito for an example."

"Kaito is not normal," Kuroda pointed out,

"True, but still, any real man would love to see me naked. After all, we wouldn't want people thinking that your preferences lay…elsewhere," she hinted,

"You told other people about this?"

"Yup"

"Your black mailing me into watching you bathe?"

"Yup,"

"You're evil,"

"Heh, see you later," she teased, walking away while greatly exaggerating the sway of her hips.

"Oh my god," he groaned, "and today is Wednesday too!"

(*# )(#&*% ()*#&% )(#*&) #&*%) #(&%) #&%)#%&)) #(*%&))#(*%&)

"That Yoruichi girl gave you her bathing schedule?"

"Yeah," said Kuroda as he ate his dinner, "crazy right?"

"Crazy? Crazily lucky you little dog!"

Kuroda, who had been taking a sip of tea, immediately spat it out. His own father was encouraging this?

"As soon as you finish your dinner, you are to go straight to the Shihouin residence and peep on that girl," ordered Taiju,

"Wha- but, Mom?"

"You should do it dear, when a girl gives you her bathing schedule it means she's really into you," Itsumi said sweetly, "isn't this great Taiju honey, it's just like that time I gave you my bathing schedule!"

"What? You guys…oh, god I can't get that image out of my head," wailed Kuroda, slamming his head into the table,

"Eat your dinner Kuroda, then go make love to Yoruichi," Taiju said nonchalantly as he slurped up some noodles,

"I thought you wanted me to peep on her!"

"Well, one thing usually leads to another,"

"Ugh,"

(* #(*%&()#%*& )#%&*_#%&_ #%_ #%)(* #&%_ &*#_%*) #%&) #)

And so Kuroda was forced to go peep on an incredibly hot cat girl. We all must sympathize with him…just kidding.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," muttered Kuroda,

"Go you idiot!" ordered Taiju, giving Kuroda a kick in the back.

"Alright I'm going, see," he said as he walked towards the lake. His father had threatened to beat him with his zanpaktou's sheath if Kuroda chickened out, and reminded Kuroda that he would be on the outskirts to make sure Kuroda didn't run away.

"Alright, how am I going to do this?" he asked himself as he made his way to the lake,

He took some cover in a few bushes, then melded with the shadows so that in case there was anyone else around, he wouldn't be spotted. Yoruichi might have been okay with this but he doubted her family would be.

Soon he was quite near the lake,

"Okay, where is she?" he peeked out of his bush and looked around for Yoruichi, "I can't believe I'm doing this."

"Neither can I,"

"Ah!" Kuroda yelped as he tumbled out of the bush, "what were you doing in there?"

"Waiting for you," replied Yoruichi as she walked out of the bush,

Why? You're supposed to be bathing!" he yelled, face very red,

"I was just about to get to it," Yoruichi walked past the flustered Kuroda and towards the water, "want to watch me undress?"

"No!" he growled, quickly turning around,

"Hm? Isn't this what you came here for?" she asked,

"Just because I came, doesn't mean I have to watch. I'm only here because my father told me to," he replied,

"Maybe, but don't you want to see?"

"Why would I want to do that? We're friends Yoruichi!"

"I know," she said, Kuroda noticed her voice was much closer, "but what if I want to be more?"

Kuroda felt a jolt of lighting go up his spine, "huh?"

He felt something soft push against his back, then he felt a pair of arms reach around his waist, in addition, something was definitely nuzzling against neck.

"You heard me, what if I want to be more?"

"Uh…" Kuroda's mind began to fry, "Yoruichi, you need to take a bath, a very cold bath, right now"

"Do you want to join me?" she asked seductively,

"I…I just ate and it would be bad if I went swimming right after," he tried to say,

He heard a giggle, Yoruichi's fingers began to traced against his chest through his shirt. Kuroda's heart began to beat insanely fast.

Then, he felt something soft press against the nape of his neck. It felt good, really good, he even leaned into it a little bit. Suddenly, he felt Yoruichi leave him.

"Well, she said, if you ever feel like coming in, feel free to," she told him, he heard a splash.

For whatever reason, Kuroda chanced a peek. He turned his head ever so slightly and caught a small glimpse of Yoruichi's naked back. Unfortunately, she noticed and gave him a cat like smile. He quickly turned back.

"I need to sit down," he whispered, finding a nearby tree, he slumped down, with his back to the water.

About an hour later and Yoruichi was finished bathing.

"See you tomorrow," she called,

"Mmhmm," he managed to say before returning to his father,

"So how'd it go?" asked Taiju, eager to hear,

"It was fine," was Kuroda's only reply,

"Fine? Kid did something bad happen? Kid?"

( #%&*# *%^) #(&%)&*%)* #&%)#& )%&) #&%) #&%)& #%&)( #*&%)*)# )

Two weeks later

"You look tired," said Kisuke, Kuroda yawned, "have some tea."

"thanks" said Kuroda, accepting the hot brew.

"I'll take some of that too," said Kaito, who looked equally tired,

"Same here," said Rajin, also tired looking,

"What's happening?" asked Kisuke as he poured two more cups of tea and served them, "you staying up late?"

"No really," replied Rajin, "it's just that our…Captain, has been driving us mad with missions."

"What's up?" asked Kisuke curiously,

"We're…not supposed to talk about it," answered Kaito,

Indeed, what they were doing was absolutely secret. At least, they hoped it was. Ever since last week, Commander Hoshigaki announced to only them that he believed there was a leak in their squad. He didn't reveal how he knew, but was absolutely sure of it. Thus, he'd entrusted them with keeping an eye out and running missions on trying to find out who might behind the leak.

It was hard, after all, whoever was the leak, was one of them, and they all knew how to effectively cover their tracks so that no one could ever find them. Still, they seemed to be making some progress.

In addition to their little hunt for the traitor, they were also conducting an investigation into a murder. One of the family members of the 5 noble houses, the youngest son who had been part of the 9th division, had been recently murdered. Which was strange, because since he was a noble, you'd think that someone would prefer to take him hostage, not outright kill him.

"But if you want to know which one of us has been coming back late at night, you should look to Kuroda," said Kaito, tired but still enough energy to be an ass.

"Oh, Kuroda, you've been out late? Interesting," said Kisuke,

"Where have you been during those nights?" asked Rajin

"Uh…somewhere," replied Kuroda,

"Nice try, but be specific," ordered Kaito,

"I've been walking," tried Kuroda,

"No you haven't," said Rajin, "seriously, where do you go? Does it have something to do with that note Yoruichi-"

Kuroda quickly cut him off with a hand to mouth,

"Note, what note?" asked Kisuke,

"Ooh, a note from Yoruichi, who we all know is Kuroda's secret crush," teased Kaito, "could it be perhaps, an invitation?"

"I know what you're thinking and its-"

"You're banging her aren't you!"

"I am not-"

"Good for you buddy, it's about time you stepped into your manhood! Now all that's left is Rajin"

"I am not doing anything with her I am-"

"Excuse me sirs" said a voice,

All four of them turned to see a messenger at the door of their booth.

"Your Captain needs you immediately,"

Kuroda sighed, "tell him we'll be right over."

The messenger disappeared,

"Sorry Kisuke, maybe next time," said Kuroda, pulling out some money,

"Oh no, it's fine," said Kisuke, "I know you guys must be busy."

"I'll buy next time," suggested Rajin

"Aw man, and I didn't even get to tell you guys that I'm in love" muttered Kaito,

Everyone came to a screeching halt,

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, remember that girl you last saw me with?"

"…."

"Come on you remember"

"The brunette?" asked Kuroda,

"The dark haired one?" asked Rajin

"No, the strawberry blonde one you idiots!"

"…oh,"

"Yeah, I'm in love!"

"How…is that possible?" asked Rajin, completely skeptical, "you're…you!"

"She's everything I've ever wanted in a girl! That's how! She drinks large amounts of sake, she wear's loose clothing so I can see a lot of skin, she's lazy but hot, and she's just so much fun!"

Silence

"I give it two weeks at most," announced Kuroda as he started to leave,

"Week and a half," said Kisuke,

"Tomorrow," said Rajin as he followed Kuroda

"You guys are assholes!" growled Kaito as he followed after the Rajin

Kisuke smiled as the three left, he looked down and saw that they had left enough money to pay for the entire meal, "so nice to have friends"

(#()( %*#&)( #*&%) #%_( *#_%() #%_ #*% #%)#%( #%)

"Commander, sir!" the three saluted,

"Good to see you three," said Commander Hoshigaki,

Commander Hoshigaki was a brutal looking man. 6ft 4, a powerful jawline with a fine layer of stubble, steely eyes and a completely shaved head. In addition, he was built like an ox, it looked like you could hit him with a hammer and it would be the hammer that would break. The man wore the standard black ops uniform as well as standard hooded cloak and kept his zanpaktou strapped his waste at all times.

"You'll have to forgive me if I skip any formalities," said Hoshigaki, "but we've got a really serious situation."

"Just an hour ago, a death note was sent to the Meiji House," the man began, he handed a sheet of paper to Kuroda.

Kuroda immediately began to read

_To the Meiji House, at midnight, your entire house will be massacred. Hire as many guards as you want, hide as far away as you like, but you will all die._

"This person has some serious problems with the Meiji house," quipped Kuroda.

"This is serious Kuroda," warned Hoshigaki,

"Sorry sir,"

"Joking aside, yes, this person, whoever he or she is, seems to have a serious grudge against the Meiji House," said Hoshigaki, "and if a threat is made against their entire family, then something must be done about it. I've already taken this up with the Captain Commander, he has agreed to put the Meiji house under Soul Society's protection."

"Which, where we come in?" asked Kaito,

"Exactly," said Hoshigaki, "you three, 80 shinigami provided form various divisions, and 30 2nd division members,"

"Great, we get to work with the damn ninjas," muttered Kaito,

"You may not like it Kaito, but you may very well need their help," warned Hoshigaki, "the Meiji's family manor is in Seireitei, the fact that they are confident they can carry out such a slaughter in the middle of a place teeming with Shinigami should speak for itself."

"It is?" asked Kaito

"All the big noble houses are in Seireitei Kaito, remember history class?" asked Rajin,

"…yes"

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," muttered Rajin,

"Kaito's idiocy aside, we're ready sir," said Kuroda,

"Good, but let me just remind you that this is a very delicate situation, we are Black Ops, we are made for this kind of thing, you three may be at the bottom of the food chain but you all have potential. Personally, I wouldn't want to send you on this, but my hands are tied," said the Commander,

"Here's a lay out of the Meiji manor," said Hoshigaki, handing Kuroda a large rolled up sheet of paper, "good luck boys,"

(()& #()*%& ()#*&%) (#*%& ()#*&% )#*%&%&* #*&%_ #%&) #&%) %& ))

"Are you sure that my house is completely secure?" asked the Head of the Meiji house, a rather small and thin man with a very large nose,

"Yes my lord, I am sure that everything is completely safe," assured Kuroda as he continued to look over the layout of the manor, "We've established a perimeter with a two guards every two meters both in and outside the manor's compound. We have the Onmitsukido doing regular patrols in the manor itself, nearly one every hallway. In addition, my comrades and I are guarding your entire family, who is situated in rooms only 5 meters apart at most. It is very secure sir."

"Oh good," said the lord, looking rather relieved, "now if you don't mind, I'm going to go get some sleep."

"Of course my lord, you must be very tired,"

As the lord left, Kaito and Rajin entered.

"Everything set up?" he asked,

"Everything," answered Rajin,

"There won't be any trouble tonight, as soon as the assassin sees how locked down we have this place, he'll just give up and go back home," said Kaito,

"Careful Kaito, it's just like Commander Hoshigaki said, this place is in Seireitei. If the assassin is so confident that he could carry out a killing on this scale, right in the middle of a place full of shinigami, then he must have some trick up his sleeve," warned Kuroda,

"Yeah, I guess," said Kaito, taking a seat, "I mean, we do it all the time."

"Do what?"

"Assassinations, in the middle of Seireitei," explained Kaito,

The conversation ended there, from then on, it was just a wait until midnight, when the assassin said that he would strike. The three members of the black ops division over saw each area of operation, nothing went on that was hidden from their sight.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Kuroda murmured to himself, it was almost midnight, which meant that the assassin would be here soon.

Somewhere on the outer perimeter

"Man, why the hell are we doing this?" asked one of the shinigami,

"Because we were told to do so, now shut up and man your post," growled his companion,

"No one's stupid enough to come at this place, we've got it locked down tight. Nothing's getting in here,"

"Maybe, but if the bosses catch you screwing around when you're supposed to be on duty, you'll be scrubbing the bathrooms for a week,"

"Whatever, hey, stand guard for me will you? I need to take a leak,"

"You can't do that now, the nearest bathrooms is like 10 minutes away and the nobles sure aren't going to let you use theirs!"

"I know, I was just gonna go in the corner,"

"Oh that's even worse!"

"Just stand guard and no one will know," the shinigami hurried around the corner,

"God, his antics are going to get him in trouble one day," muttered the other,

After a few minutes, the shinigami heard the sound of his companion's footsteps coming back.

"What took you so long?" he asked, about to turn around, "did you have to find some leaves to-"

There was a flash of steel, then the warm feeling of blood running down his body. He tried to call for help, but his blood filled lungs wouldn't let him. His murderer shoved him off the blade and let him fall to the ground with a thump, the assassin then continued to kill the rest.

( #*(%& )&%*)* #&%)&( #*%)( #&%)&)#& )#&%)( #%&) #%&() )

"Some one's out there," murmured Kuroda,

"Sir?" asked an Onmitsukido member,

"have one of our men check the outer perimeter guard," ordered Kuroda, "I smell blood in the air."

"Sir, right away!" the Onmitsukido disappeared with a flash of Shunpo,

A minute later and the same man reported back, along with the sound of the guard mobilizing.

"Sir, the entire outer guard was slaughtered, not a single man was spared!"

"Damn," cursed Kuroda, "Kaito! Rajin! Get down there! We do not let him get to the higher levels!"

"On it!" Kaito called back,

Kuroda headed to a balcony that overlooked the entire courtyard of the Meiji manor. Already he could see about 30 shinigami battle ready, continuously sweeping the area for any signs of the intruder. He also managed to spot Kaito directing them.

Suddenly, the main gate of the Meiji manor's walls burst apart, sending splinters and pieces of wood flying everywhere.

And there, where the gate had once stood, was the assassin. Kuroda squinted his eyes to see if he could get a better look, but the figure was shrouded in darkness.

"Cocky bastard," Kaito said almost admiringly, "Get him!"

A dozen shinigami charged the assassin, their blades ready to slice him to pieces. Though he knew better, Kuroda hoped that they'd be able to kill the assassin, but in his heart something told him that Kaito had just sent a dozen men to their deaths.

The figure hunched forward, the dozen men continued to charge.

A flash of movement, and the assassin was suddenly gone. A moment later, he reappeared behind the group of shinigami that had threatened to kill him. Another second and a dozen shinigami fell to the ground, their blood exploding from wounds they didn't even realize they had.

The men, stunned by the brutal deaths of their comrades, were nearly helpless as the assassin continued on, butchering each one that got in his way.

"Bastard," cursed Kaito as he himself rushed the assassin,

The assassin cut down another man, then whipped around just in time to see Kaito swinging his zanpaktou to lop of the assassin's head.

Amazingly enough, the assassin ducked under the attack and retaliated with a swipe at Kaito's gut. Kaito quickly backed up, avoiding the blade then came back with a powerful overhead slash. The assassin side stepped, then jumped over a low sweep, then blocked another strike.

"You're a slippery bastard," complimented Kaito as he pressed hard,

The assassin did not respond, but suddenly shot out with his left hand and punched Kaito right in the face. There was a loud crunch and Kaito was sent reeling.

"Son of a-"

Kaito never finished as the assassin suddenly rammed his shoulder into Kaito's stomach, kept up the momentum of his attack, then practically used Kaito's back as a battering ram to smash through the main doors leading into the manor.

"Damn! Kaito!" yelled Kuroda, fearing the worst he leapt down from the balcony and ran through the hole in the door that the assassin had made.

When he reentered the manor, he found Kaito lying on the floor with a dozen bodies of the guards that had been posted in the room.

Kuroda hurried to Kaito's side, "Kaito are you okay?"

Kaito let out a pained groan, "that bastard, really packs a punch,"

"Just stay here Kaito, I'm gonna go find Rajin and we'll take this guy out," assured Kuroda as he left his friend's side.

As he ran through the halls, Kuroda witnessed a massacre in the process. Everywhere he went, he found the bodies of the shinigami that had been meant as protection. Blood splattered the walls like paint or pooled onto the floor in deep puddles of crimson. Worse was when he found the bodies of servants, who had most likely been hiding, cut to pieces just like the shinigami.

Kuroda heard screams as he continued his pursuit.

Then there was a ground shaking explosion followed by the smell of smoke.

"Rajin," he realized, he must have released his zanpaktou,

Kuroda doubled his speed, following the sound of fighting and the smell of blood. More and more bodies were added to the ever growing body count, worse, there didn't even seem to be a direct route by which the assassin was traveling. He was simply going through every part of every level, killing anyone he found. He wasn't just going to go after the family, he was trying to kill everyone!

Just as he heard the sounds of fighting coming closer, the wall next to him exploded! A body came tumbling out and Kuroda went straight for AnShen. But he stayed his hand when he realized he recognized this body, he kneeled down and confirmed that it was indeed Rajin.

"Rajin, talk to me! Are you alive," he asked, checking the man's pulse.

"I think so," the man managed to say weakly,

Kuroda breathed a sigh of relief, Rajin looked like he'd just gone through a meat mincer. Dozens of cuts crisscrossed his body, blood flowed freely from the wounds and stained the floor. Big ugly bruised the size of apples were on his face and chest, then his right shoulder looked dislocated and his left arm was at a funny angle. But at least he was alive.

Suddenly, Kuroda felt a cold wind creep up his spine. Slowly he stood up, his hand on AnShen's hilt. He turned his head towards the gaping hole in the wall and stared upon the assassin.

Kuroda felt a pit of anger form in his gut, he took a step towards the assassin, he couldn't see the man's face because of mask, cloak, and shadows. But that didn't matter, he could look on his face when he'd cut the man in half.

He took another step through the hole, AnShen let out an eerie noise as it slid out if the sheath. Kuroda took another step, the assassin made no move.

They were now barely a meter apart, by now Kuroda could see the blood dripping off the assassin's katana.

He raised AnShen,

The assassin ran.

"What-hey, come back here you bastard!" Kuroda immediately chased after,

Kuroda chased the man down the hall, the assassin turned down a corner, Kuroda followed catching only a glimpse as the man disappeared up a flight of steps.

"Damn it!" he cursed,

By the time he reached the top as well, he could already smell the scent of fresh blood. The screams, the sound of flesh being cut open, Kuroda ran right for it.

He ran with all his strength, desperately trying to catch up. Sometimes he'd get there just in time for the last body to hit the ground with a spray of blood still lingering. But he'd only catch quick glimpses of the actual assassin.

Before long, the only floor left was the top floor, on which the entire noble family was living.

Kuroda was tempted to give up, but he didn't. Perhaps, even if he couldn't save all of them, he could save some. Even just, one, even if it was just one of them, that would be enough.

He rushed up the stairs and right into a fist.

The blow was powerful and Kuroda immediately began to see stars, it had also knocked him right onto the ground.

In the distance, he heard more screams. Through his blurry vision, he watched as a woman, maybe the daughter or wife, was sliced in the back as she tried to run from the assassin. Another woman ran to the first one's side, crying over her.

The assassin allowed no time for mourning, he raised his blade and plunged it into the woman's back.

There was crying, a young boy, having seen two of his family brutally murdered, cried in the just behind the assassin.

"Run!" Kuroda wanted to say, he clumsily pushed himself up, but no words could leave his mouth.

The assassin noticed but did nothing, instead he turned to the boy.

"No!" Kuroda tried, but still nothing, by the time he was fully on his feet, the crying had stopped.

"Son of a bitch," he cursed, "killing a child? Have you no shame?"

The assassin, now turned to him, said nothing.

"Nothing to say? Fine, I don't need an apology, just your head!"

Kuroda charged forth, though in his groggy state it was most likely unwise to do so. But he didn't care, he was angry.

The assassin side stepped his first attack, then ducked under a horizontal swing. Kuroda's opponent fought back with a quick thrust of his katana, Kuroda deflected the attack and kicked out with his foot. The attack would have connected but the assassin threw back his head at the last second, grabbed Kuroda by the ankle and pulled him onto his back.

A flash of steel, Kuroda rolled out of the way, just barely avoiding being skewered through the eye. His foot lashed out again and swept the assassin's feet from under him. As his opponent fell, he came up, bringing AnShen up with him, hoping to cut the man right in half.

But no, the assassin was too skilled and quickly jumped out of the way by catching his whole body with a single handed handstand.

The assassin kicked and caught Kuroda right in the face, again! The blow sent him crashing through a pair of doors.

"Damn" he cursed, Kuroda's eyes widened when he noticed a red glow coming from where he'd just been.

He hastily crashed through the wall and into the next room, the one behind him suddenly burst into flames.

'That was kido!'

Another red glow,

'crap!'

The assassin was in the door way already charging another shot, Kuroda raised his own hand,

"Hado #31: Shakkaho !"

Kido met kido and an explosion tore the room apart, but sent the assassin tumbling down the hall in a daze. Kuroda, being much more fortunate, burst out of the smoke, AnShen raised over his head.

The assassin quickly rolled out of the way and let AnShen sink into the floor.

His sword stuck in the floor, Kuroda had no chance to counter as the assassin cut him across the chest and kicked him away.

Pain bloomed on him, he could already feel his life blood soaking into his shirt. Weaponless, tired, and wounded, Kuroda still jumped back to his feet.

The assassin waited, then when Kuroda was ready, he thrust his katana forth. Kuroda side stepped, spiraling around the attack and delivering a solid kick to the side of the man's head. The assassin smashed into a wall, Kuroda quickly pulled AnShen out of the ground.

By then his opponent was already amazingly up and attacking.

Kuroda once again sidestepped an attack, and this time thrust his own blade forward. A grim satisfaction filled him up as his blade slipped through the man's ribs.

There was a grunt of pain, then a fist, which promptly hit Kuroda in the face.

That one hit must have been especially hard, because after that he began to lose consciousness. However, some small part of him bid that he continue to fight, his hand grabbed out aimlessly, trying to secure some part of the assassin's clothing.

It caught something, a piece of his cloak. But it tore.

Kuroda hit the ground, then blacked out.

( (*% &#()%&* #)%&*()#%&* )#%&) #*%&) #&%*)#&*%)#%&*#*%& )#%&*)

The next day

Kuroda woke up in the 4th division, depressed and ashamed.

The reports were in, 110 shinigami, dead in a single night and both of his friends hospitalized. Captain Unohana said that the wounds weren't as bad as they looked, but it'd still be another day or two before they could do anything.

His wounds were the least life threatening, as such, he was let out before them.

He walked home with his head low, he reached into his pocket and felt the piece of cloth he'd torn from the assassin. His anger burned greatly, he should have been able to protect them.

But for now, he had to go confront his Commander.

As he walked into Commander Hoshigaki's office, he felt the shame press down on him even more.

"Sir, reporting in sir,"

"Kuroda, you're up already, I thought that you'd be in for at least another day," said Hoshigaki, "are you alright."

"Physically, fine sir,"

"Mmm, good, now tell me, what the hell happened over there?"

Kuroda recounted for his Commander, the events of the massacre, it wasn't very hard, every detail of it was burned into his memory. At the end of it, Kuroda asked if any of the noble house had survived.

"I'm sorry kid, but the only survivors there, were you three," replied Hoshigaki,

"I see," said Kuroda, "I failed,"

A moment of silence

"I'm sorry to send you into the field again so soon, but, we think we may have found the information leak," said Hoshigaki,

"You have?" Kuroda asked, immediately perking up,

"We have, we believe he may also be the one behind the attack on the Meiji house," said Hoshigaki, "after all, young as you are, not many could throw Black Operatives around like dolls."

"Who is it?" Kuroda asked, his voice taking on a much darker and blood thirsty tone,

"I can't reveal it right now, but seeing as what you've gone through, I think I'll let you be the one who plugs the leak," said Hoshigaki, "report back at 11:00 PM tonight. Then, you can have your revenge."

(#*(%) #*&%) (#*&%)#&*% )(#&%_ #&%) #&()% ()#&%) #(%) #(%&()

11:00 PM didn't come fast enough for Kuroda, but he waited patiently in his room until the appointed hour.

"What the hell are you doing in there kid?" asked Taiju, having just taken a bath.

"Waiting," replied Kuroda,

"For what?"

"Something important,"

"What's the matter with you today?" asked Taiju, a little creeped out,

"Nothing old man," growled Kuroda, turning to his father, "now if you don't mind I'd like to-"

"Like to what? Finish that sentence?" asked Taiju as his son suddenly stopped talking,

"Dad,"

"Hmm?"

"Where did you get that injury?"

"Oh this?" he said, pointing to an injury, most likely a stab wound, right on his ribs, "I was training with the Commander and he got a little carried away and accidently got me right in the ribs. Must be getting old or something, in my younger years I could have dodged that. See you later kid, I'll leave you to do your wall staring or whatever."

'No,' Kuroda thought, 'no, it's just your imagination. You're being paranoid, there's no way that it was him. Probably just a coincidence, yeah, that's it. He said he was training right? Stuff like that happens in training.'

"Mom?" he called,

"Yes dear?"

"Where was Dad last night?"

"I'm not sure" she called back, "he was out all night, came back a bit after midnight. Why?"

"No reason," he tried, 'there's no way. There's no way it's him!'

Despite his own assurance, Kuroda found himself sneaking into his father's dresser, looking for his black ops cloak.

He found it, didn't like what he found. The cloak had the exact same rip that he'd given the assassin last night.

'No,' he thought, 'it's impossible! It can't be him!'

11:00 PM arrived to early.

Kuroda reported as he said he would, to Hoshigaki's office.

"Kuroda, there you are, right on schedule," said the Commander, "now, here's the plan for plugging the leak."

"I'm going to send you and the leak on a mission, it'll just be to take down some hollows. You two will go, you'll kill the hollows. But while you two are fighting, if you see the chance to strike take it. No heroics here kid, no honor, this is another Black Operative, there can be no chances taken."

"Yes sir," Kuroda said, halfheartedly, "I will kill him."

There was a knock on the door, "he's here sir,"

"Send him in,"

The door creaked open ominously, and let in Taiju Ryou, traitor to the Black Ops division.

( #%^# %*&) #*%&) #(&%) #(%*) #(*%^) #*% )#*(%^) #*(%#%) *()

"Bit weird don't you think? Commander Hoshigaki sending us on a mission to kill a couple of hollows, shouldn't this be something given to another division?" asked Taiju as he and his son rushed through the forests

"Yeah,"

"I mean, come on, we're Black Ops, this is grunt work!"

"Mmhmm"

"Kid, are you sure you're okay?" asked Taiju, Kuroda could hear genuine concern in his voice, which made him feel horrible, not okay.

What was he supposed to do? This was his father! Maybe not his blood father, but still, this man had adopted him, raised him, everything he had was because of him! Yet at the same time, he was a traitor to the division, and traitors deserved absolutely no mercy, no matter who they were.

Kuroda grounded his teeth, how could this be happening? What went wrong? All the facts that he'd gathered, the wound, his mother, the piece of fabric, all pointed to Taiju.

"Kid!"

"Huh?"

"I asked if you were okay"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine, just a lot on my mind is all,"

"Heh, what happen, Yoruichi break up with you?"

"No, we were never together, old man,"

"Well then, what's up, you're acting all…depressed, that really isn't you."

"It's nothing," insisted Kuroda, "let's just finish this mission and go back home."

"Must be a phase," mumbled Taiju as Kuroda sped past him,

After a few more minutes of running, the two of the came to a quick halt

"You sense them?" asked Taiju,

"Yeah," replied Kuroda, "they've been trailing us for a while now."

"You knew they were following and didn't say anything?"

"Yes, I didn't want to scare you"

"Scare me? I picked them up a while ago too, but I didn't want to scare you,"

"….great"

By now, the two of them were surrounded by at least two dozen hollows.

"Now this is just disappointing," muttered Taiju, "I was hoping for at least twice this amount."

"Shut up and kill them,"

As if on cue, the two of them exploded into motion. The hollows pounced, ready to feast upon their flesh and satiate their hunger.

Unfortunately, the beasts were effectively shredded to pieces in just a matter of seconds.

"See, disappointing! If there were twice as many, it would have taken us at least one more second!" complained Taiju,

Kuroda was about to respond, but was interrupted when a dozen new garganta opened up, spilling in two dozen more hollow.

"Happy now?"

"Yes!"

The two men exploded into motion again, slaughtering the hollows in a beautiful explosion of blood.

"Well, I think that's the last of them," said Taiju,

Kuroda grunted in agreement as he calmly wiped off something off his face. His eyes hurt for some reason, and the liquid dripping down his lips, they tasted salty. He needed to complete his mission.

"Good job," said Taiju, "maybe next time you can do it while looking like a man."

Kuroda said nothing as Taiju laughed at his own joke. His grip tightened around AnShen, he took a peek behind, Taiju had his back to him. This was a perfect chance!

"But your alive, that's always good. But of course you have to be alive, the only one who's going to kill you is me! HAHAHA!"

Kuroda felt something tighten in his chest, his breaths began to become deep and hard on his throat. He didn't know it, but his hands were shaking uncontrollably, he began to grind his teeth in frustration.

Do it!

Kuroda turned around

Do it!

"Well" said Taiju, back still facing Kuroda, "time to go back"

He stifled a scream, pushed off his foot and ran.

Kuroda would never forget, the feeling of that day. He'd killed many things, hollows and men, all felt the same when he cut through them with AnShen. But cutting through Taiju, cutting through his own father, feeling as his razor sharp blade, cleanly sliced into his father's flesh, carving a path way into the man's heart.

That is something that Kuroda would never forget, he would forever remember the feeling of it, the sound of it, everything.

Blood dripped down the blade and onto his hands. God, his father's blood was on his hands!

With all the fear ripping in his heart, he looked up.

Even from the back, he could see the blade coming up from Taiju's chest, soaked in red.

With just as much disgust as he had before, Kuroda slipped AnShen out of his father's back and let him fall to the ground.

The man's eyes were closed, for that much Kuroda was thankful for, if they had been open he would have fainted.

But there was still so much blood, so much of his father's blood! He dropped AnShen and fell to his father's side.

He cried, he cried so hard. Tears streamed down his face as he sobbed into Taiju's bloodied chest. Nothing, nothing would ever make him clean of this stain on his life. No amount of happiness, no amount of forgiveness from anyone would help him.

He had murdered his father! His father!

His entire world was tearing itself up. Voices began to pop up in his head, accusing him, applauding him, so many of them.

"How could you!"

"Murderer!"

"Good soldier"

"Your own father!"

"You'll make a fine shinigami"

"Disgusting"

"A real man"

"Bastard"

"You did the right thing"

"Unforgiveable"

Kuroda screamed, just to shut them up and let loose all his anguish.

Suddenly, something pressed into his neck, something sharp and cold.

Kuroda looked up from his father's chest, and saw his father's eyes looking back at him. At first he felt relief, his father was alive. Then he remembered that it had been he who'd nearly killed him, even more how was Taiju still alive? Had he found some way to cheat even death?

"Idiot," muttered Taiju, "you only nicked my heart, next time, make sure you hit your mark"

Kuroda was too stunned to respond

Taiju's mouth, for reasons still unknown, broke into a loving smile.

Then, his head fell back.

The life fled from his eyes.

His grip on his sword disappeared.

And he died.

(#(*%& #(*)&% ()#* #)(&*% )#(&*%) #(*&%) (#%& #)(*^% )(%&)

Kuroda walked back home, alone, there was no way he could have bared carrying his father's corpse back.

He felt so empty, as if someone had just taken him and thrown out everything that had ever made sense to him. He felt broken down then remade. It wasn't horrible, just empty.

"Kuroda!"

Kuroda jerked instinctively at the sound of his mother's voice. Damn it, he'd forgotten all about her, what if she found out?

"Kuroda, there you are, back from your mission?"

"Yes mother," he said hesitantly and with his eyes to the ground,

"Is your father with you?"

Kuroda weakly shook his head,

"Well, if you see him can you give him his cloak back?" she asked, handing him a black ops cloak, the one that he had worn when he'd killed the Meiji family, "I had to patch up a hole on the cloak after your clumsy father let it get torn in a sparring match with Commander Hoshigaki."

"What?"

"Oh, well you know your father spars with the Commander?"

"Wait mother, that from the Commander?"

"Yes," she said with a raised eyebrow,

"How do you know?"

"I saw it,"

Kuroda suddenly felt confused all over again.

"Mother, this is important, are you sure that torn of patch was because of the a sparring match with the Commander?"

"Uh…yes, why?"

Then that meant…

"I've got to go, see you later"

"Wait Kuroda where is your father?"

He kept running,

'He's dead mom, I killed him'

(## *(%& #()*&% ()#%&*) #(%&*) #&*%()#&% ()#&*%)_#%&*(_ #&*% &%_)

Kuroda burst into the Commander's Office,

"Kuroda? I assume the deed is done-"

"My father,"

"Yes, your father, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but-"

"He wasn't the assassin at the manor,"

"What?"

"He wasn't the assassin at the manor, the assassin, I tore off a piece of cloth from his cloak. I saw a similar tear on my father's cloak, that's why I suspected him first," he said bitterly, "but my mother saw that tear being made, which means my father wasn't the assassin."

"I see," said Hoshigaki, furrowing his brows, "but still, I'm quite sure that he was the information leak."

"How?"

"My sources are very reliable,"

"I would like to speak with them,"

"My sources are members of this division" roared Hoshigaki, "are you saying that I don't know my own division Kuroda Ryou?"

Kuroda became silent,

"Now, if there is nothing else," said Hoshigaki, composing himself, "you are dismissed and-"

"Commander, you're bleeding,"

"Huh?" Commander Hoshigaki looked down, and indeed there was a noticeable wet patch on the area of his ribs, "oh, old injury,"

"I gave the assassin a similar wound last night," Kuroda commented, his voice beginning to seethe,

"Are you implying something Kuroda?"

Without warning, Kuroda grabbed a handful of the Commander's cloak and dragged him by it over the table.

"How dare you-"

"Where did this tare come from?" asked Kuroda, pointing to a patch that looked just like the one he'd given the assassin.

Hoshigaki narrowed his eyes.

( #*(%&#()*%& )#(*%) #%&* )#%&*)#%^ #()%& )#&%*) #&*%) #&*%)( #%&*)_%#) )

Two members of the Black ops division spar in the underground garden.

Suddenly, the cavern ceiling explodes. Out from the dust comes a body, soaring through the air until it crashes into the ground with a might crack.

The two member rush over to see who it was. When they find out, they can hardly believe it.

"Commander? Are you alright?" asks one of them,

"I'm fine!" he growls, pushing away their offers of help, "that bastard kid Kuroda is a traitor!"

"What?"

A moment later, Kuroda jumps out from the same hole in the ceiling and lands just a few meters from the Commander. He has already activated his bankai, now clothed with dark red trench coat and leather vambraces upon his forearms.

Red reiatsu oozed from the air around him that gave off a deathly chill and his eyes, full of hate and anger against one person. Something that could only be satiated with revenge.

"You idiot kid," the Commander says, "I would have given you a chance if you'd stopped and left my office, but now you've just pissed me off!"

Without a word, Kuroda dashes forward, sword already swinging AnShen,

Hoshigaki raised his sword and thwarted that attack, the pushed Kuroda back.

Kuroda dug his heels into the ground and called fourth a volley of souls. Hoshigaki easily avoided the acidic substances but one of the other members was hit and immediately began to scream in pain as the horrific liquid ate through his flesh.

Hoshigaki came down on Kuroda from the air and slammed his blade against Kuroda's defenses multiple times. Kuroda shunpo'd away and reappeared behind Hoshigaki but the Commander was too fast and kicked out, catching Kuroda in the chest and sending him flying away.

"**Shino Kabe!"**

Kuroda let loose an incredibly powerful wave of souls, now transformed into a calvary charge from hell. Hoshigaki smirked, he waited for the incoming attack to come in, then sliced through it with a single stroke.

This only led to more frustration and anger from Kuroda, causing him to step up his power without hesitation.

**Daiichi no Dankai: Shipan"**

The souls of Kuroda's sword began to converge around him, engulfing him in a hypnotic swirl, bestowing upon him two large wings onto his back, giving him the appearance of a demonic angel.

By now, the rest of the division had shown up in the gardens and stood by their commander's side.

"Commander Hoshigaki, sir! What's going on?"

"Kuroda has turned traitor boys, we're here to put him down. The Black Ops division doesn't tolerate traitors!"

"It doesn't matter how many you hide behind you cowardly bastard! I'll get to you and when I do, I'll shove my blade through your heart and let AnShen devour your soul!" roared Kuroda,

"Really? Last I checked, even with that form, you could only ever tie with your old man. I'm much stronger than him, I'm the Commander of the Black Ops division! What makes you think you can take me on you little punk!" taunted Hoshigaki,

Kuroda scowled and glared at him with rage filled eyes.

"No answer huh? Well then this will be quick," Hoshigaki said arrogantly, raising his blade, "hold back for a moment boys, I'll take care of this one personally."

Kuroda burst forth with a powerful flap of his wings, and easily batted away any of the Black Operatives that tried to impede him with a strong swing of AnShen.

Then he locked blades with Hoshigaki, the two exchanged a flurry of swings and thrusts as both of them tried to tear the other apart.

Kuroda struck at him with a horizontal swing, but Hoshigaki blocked and retaliated with a downwards chop.

Kuroda parried and riposted managing to catch Hoshigaki on the cheek. The Commander growled in irritation and swung wildly at Kuroda, all blows were avoided letting Kuroda kick out both his feet and catch his opponent right in the face.

Hoshigaki was sent reeling back with a bloodied nose.

With a growl of anger, Hoshigaki attacked again.

This time Kuroda brought up his wings and easily blocked every single strike Hoshigaki threw at him. When the barrage was over, Kuroda burst out from his wings and yelled,

"**Shibou Ryuu!"**

Unleashing a hellish missile that slammed right into Hoshigaki's chest, smashing the man right into a wall with a powerful explosion.

By now, Hoshigaki was tired of being made a fool of.

"That's it, **Execute: Handan Ono!"**

Hoshigaki's katana suddenly morphed into a brutal looking double headed battle axe.

The transformation caught Kuroda off guard and was unable to respond when Hoshigaki swept the monstrous weapon in a wide arc.

The attack caught Kuroda and sent him barreling into the ground.

"Damn," he muttered,

A shadow descended upon him, out came his wings, wrapping him in a protective shell as Hoshigaki's axe came down. His knees buckled from the assault as the terrifying weapon came down again and again.

The axe smashed against his wings one lasts time, the Kuroda burst out and unleashed another wave,

"**Shino Kabe!"**

The calvary charge made for Hoshigaki, but the Commander just smirked and swung his axe. Without even touching the wave, it burst into two pieces.

"Give it up kid" offered Hoshigaki, "you're still young and haven't mastered you're bankai. I'm older, more experienced!"

Kuroda let out a feral snarl,

"You're persistence is admirable but it's starting to annoy me," Hoshigaki signaled to the division, they all shunpo'd to Hoshigaki's side, weapons at the ready, "surrender now and I'll let you live."

"And as some extra incentive," Hoshigaki snapped his fingers, suddenly at least 30 Onmitsukido members suddenly appeared by Hoshigaki's side.

"where the hell did they come from," whispered Kuroda,

"Just a little favor the 2nd division Captain owes me," answered Hoshigaki, "he's repaying me by allowing me to borrow some of his men to put down a dangerous criminal. I knew you'd do something stupid kid, so I thought in advance."

Kuroda's breath was heavy, his arms ached and his legs threatened to give out. As much as he hated to admit it, the Commander was right. His Bankai was still undeveloped, he was still getting used to its strength and he definitely didn't have the strength to take on all of them.

"So what'll it be kid?"

"Just one question Hoshigaki, why?"

"Why what?" the Commander asked back,

"Why have my father killed? Why frame him?"

"Ha! Because he really was the information leak you idiot," answered Hoshigaki, "your old man was reporting back to Old man Yamamoto! Telling him all of our dirty little secrets."

"But you see I didn't like that, I didn't like the old man snooping around. Because soon, he started asking questions, telling me what t do! Did you know, that he threatened to shut us down? How crazy is that? Seireitei needs a black ops division, always has, always will!"

"And the Meiji massacre?"

"That was me, I wanted to show Soul Society why they needed us, why they should keep us on. By showing them threats like this, I could show them why we were around. To deal with things others couldn't."

"All this, for your own god damn pride and greed?" growled Kuroda, "you son of a bitch! I murdered my own father for you! Now you tell me this! He was right to report back to Yamamoto!"

"Careful Kuroda, you're trying my patience,"

"I don't care, nothing you say will stop me from tearing you limb from limb! You're going to die here, this night, I'll scatter your flesh across the ground for the birds to peck at and the maggots to chew through!"

"Heh, yeah right" laughed Hoshigaki, "one last chance kid, what's your answer."

Kuroda was breathing heavily, not from fatigue. No, from raw unbridled anger, without a word he raised AnShen at Hoshigaki. The Black Operatives, 5 in all, raised theirs.

"here's my answer," he growled, a sudden burst of reiatsu came out of him,

"**Dainii no Dankai: Tatakau!"**

A massive wave of souls began to smother Kuroda, wrapping around him and seeping into his flesh. As they granted him their power, they gave of their haunting wails that chilled each of the men, even Hoshigaki to the bone.

When the final soul had been absorbed by Kuroda, Hoshigaki was disappointed in the lack of transformation that had been so evident in Kuroda's first stage.

"Is that it? What did that do?" he asked confidently,

Kuroda stood up, his eyes piercing through Hoshigaki.

Suddenly, he flipped AnShen around so that he was hold it backhand style and plunged it into the ground. Almost immediately, a strange liquid, not unlike that which Kuroda used to attack, began to ooze out of the blade and cover the ground around him.

The moans of the dead could suddenly be heard again, in fact, if one were to stare at the liquid spreading around Kuroda, they would see the faces of those slain.

Then, a part of the pool that had now formed around Kuroda, began to bubble uncontrollably. Something suddenly burst out from the liquid, something that very much looked like a giant red lizard's claw.

The claw pulled up its owner, which was revealed to be a very ghastly and horrific creature. The thing kept pulling itself up until its entire body was exposed.

Everyman, even Hoshigaki shuddered at the sight of this new monster.

It was what could only be described as a giant lizard, one that looked like it belonged to the devil himself. The beast was covered from head to toe with dark red scales that seemed to be rotting away, the thing was also at the very least 6ft high at the shoulder. Its four legs were thick and muscular, it's feet were armed with razor sharp claws that dugs through the earth like it was made of mud.

It's hideous face held two large pupiless eyes, a mouth full of teeth the size of steak knives, and a line of sharp boney frills trailing down the middle of its head. In addition, it's behind held one long tail that held a sharp barb at the end of it.

As if all of that were not horrifying enough, pieces of the beast seemed to have rotted away. Muscle, bone and even sometimes organs could be seen in small patches along its body.

The thing looked just like the serpents that Kuroda could already summon, except given a new body.

The monster let out an unnatural roar as it took its place next to its master like a good boy.

"That's it? Your bankai's second stage lets you summon some ugly looking lizard mutt?" taunted Hoshigaki,

"Commander, look!" cried one of the Black Operatives,

Hoshigaki did and what he saw, was even more claws suddenly reaching out from the liquid still oozing from AnShen. More of those horrifying lizards began to emerge, screeching as they were brought into a world they did not belong in. But they came through anyway and they stood by their master and awaited his command.

When Kuroda finally yanked AnShen out from the ground and the pool finally receded, a total of 6 hell lizards stood by his side.

Kuroda raised his face and stared a chilling stare at his gathered enemy, one that only a man who knew he was about to kill someone could give. Everyman felt death tap them on the shoulder in that single moment.

The hell lizards drooled, the men sweat fear and shuffled in their position. Hoshigaki, swallowed.

Kuroda gave his first command,

"Kill them"

The beasts had been let off the leash, in a single moment, each and every one of them roared with hunger and pounced forth.

Screams, echoed in the cavern that night.

The hell lizards crashed into the ranks of the terrified shinigami. They grabbed men by the necks with their mouth full of teeth, tearing out their throats and drinking their blood.

Their claws cut down groups of men at a time, working just as well as any weapon.

One man tried to run, unable face the terrors that stood before him. He screamed and ran for the exit, but one of the lizards noticed and quickly ran in pursuit. The man spared a look over his shoulder and saw only the slathering maw of the beast eager to feast on him.

The man tried to double his speed, but it was all in vain. The lizard pounced and pinned the man to the ground, its claws dug deep into the man's flesh. He let out a pained choking sound; the lizard promptly silenced him by biting of his head.

A group of men were smart enough to try and from a defensive circle and hold off the lizards. Three of the lizards ran around the circle like a pack of wolves trapping their prey.

"Be ready!" called one of the men, "whatever happens! Don't break the circle!"

As soon as he finished his sentence, one of the hell lizards pounced through the group, grabbed the man with its teeth and just as quickly pounced away with the man screaming in its jaws.

Before anyone else could try anything, another lizard pounced through the group and took another man.

Then a third pounced in, but unlike the two before it, this lizard reared up on its hind legs and began to swing madly with its front two claws. The men, too terrified to even try to escape, were torn to pieces by those powerful appendages.

Another man had fallen on his back in a pitiful attempt to escape from a lizard. As it approached him, he waved his katana in front of him wildly to try and keep it back. But the lizard knew no fear, even when the blade cut a crease across its snout it continued forward.

It snapped up one of the man's legs in its teeth filled jaws, the man screamed as he wildly hacked at the creature to no effect. Then another lizard came and hooked its teeth into the man's shoulder. The two lizards pulled, both trying to secure their share of the prey. The man let out a strangled gurgle before he was ripped in half.

One of the Black Operatives tried casting kido,

"Hado #33: Sokatsui!" a burst of blue energy fired from his outstretched hand and struck a charging lizard right in the face.

When the lizard did not appear out of the smoke, the Black Operative let out a relieved chuckled, "haha, I got one!"

His victory was cut short, when growl, followed by the lizard he had assumed he'd destroyed, burst out from the smoke with its right eye leaking blood.

The sight was so terrible that the Black Operative cried out in fear as the lizard pounced on top of him and began to rip out his intestines.

A group of the remaining Onmitsukido members, led by one of the last Black Operatives, attempted to gang up on a lone lizard who'd just finished with the pervious Black Operative.

One of the Onmitsukido made a swipe at one of the lizard's front legs, but the lizard, despite its size was took quick and easily swatted the man away. The Onmitsukido member flew across the cavern floor and landed with a juicy crunch.

"Hado #31: Shakkaho!"

Someone shot a red ball of energy that connected with the lizard's snout, the ball of energy exploded scorching it's face.

The lizard reared up on its hind legs and let out a roar of pain. The Black Operative saw his chance and rushed the lizard, sinking his katana deep into its exposed belly.

"Got you!" The Black Operative dragged his weapon down the monster's belly, drawing a bloody line that stunk of rotten flesh and sprayed blood onto his face.

Just as victory seemed to be within their grasp, a hand, shot out from the creature's belly and grabbed the Black Operative's wrist.

"What, what the hell!" he screamed,

The cut in the lizard's belly began to open, more and more, but instead of the organs that you'd expect, what the shinigami found was that the lizard was stuffed with bodies! Human bodies!

Rotting corpses of those deceased, eyeless, shriveled, dead, yet they moved! One of the corpses had its hands firmly around the black operative's wrist.

"Let go," he cried, trying to wriggle away,

But another corpse grabbed a handful of the man's shirt. Another grabbed his hair, and yet another grabbed his cloak.

"No!" he cried out, "someone help!"

But all of his comrades were too stunned to help.

"No!" he screamed as they began to drag him into the lizard's open body, "let go! Let go!"

He sliced away a rotting hand, but another came out and replaced it.

"No! No!" he pleaded as he was pulled in deeper and deeper, until finally he was completely dragged in.

The lizard fell back down onto all fours, and the open wound that had once been on its belly sealed itself up.

"Run!" someone finally yelled, "run for your lives!"

In a matter of only 5 minutes, the numbers of the shinigami had been reduced to only a fourth of what they had once been. No one could have blamed them for trying to escape, futile as it was.

"Fools!" roared Hoshigaki as he beat back one of the lizards, "stand your ground! Or I'll-"

His sentence was replaced with a gurgle as a lizard raked its claws down his back.

"Bastard," he growled as he swung his sword around,

The lizard jumped away, letting the sword miss entirely.

"Hey! Where are you guys!" he called, he turned to the entrance and found his answer.

Dead, all dead, he was all that was left.

"Kuroda, you son of a bitch, I'll make you suffer for this!" the Commander promised.

"No," he heard, pain exploded from his legs, "you are the one who will suffer"

Hoshigaki fell the ground, blood gushing from his severed hamstrings. He caught himself with his hands and found himself looking down at a pair of feet, he turned his gaze up to see Kuroda staring down at him.

One of the lizards came up next to Kuroda, the man put his hand on its head and calmly pet the monster as though it were some common house hold dog.

"How does it feel, Hoshigaki, to be helpless in the face of a stronger power?"

"You haven't won yet kid," growled Hoshigaki as he tried to rise, "I'm still alive,"

As the Commander tried to rise, he found much to his horror, that his legs would not respond to his commands.

"Don't try to move," advised Kuroda, "I've hamstrung you, you're about as helpless as a baby who hasn't even learned how to walk."

"Bastard, that was a dirty trick," Hoshigaki spat,

"I am of the Black Ops division Hoshigaki, we are all about dirty tricks" Kuroda pointed out,

"You still claim to be part of the division, yet you've destroyed us all!" roared Hoshigaki, "I'm still Commander of the Black Ops, it's because of me that this division will continue to live on! I-"

He was suddenly cut off when Kuroda pressed AnShen's edge against his throat,

"You, are nothing more than a vile pig" finished Kuroda, "you made me murder my father, and massacred an innocent family for your own designs."

"That's how the world works kid, that's what we're here for!" Hoshigaki shot back, "you want to be a hero? Then change divisions! This isn't a division for the honorable, or the gallant, there are no good guys here! We are backstabbers, assassins, we do the jobs no one else wants to do! It's because of us, that the world is safer! Not because of some goody-two-shoes hero who has a set of morals and saves the day because he believes in himself!"

Kuroda let AnShen fall from the man's throat, "perhaps you are right. But still, if I am a part of such a dishonorable division, then there is nothing stopping me from killing a crippled man who can't even defend himself."

Hoshigaki's eyes widened as the lizards began to surround him, "No, wait, Kuroda! Please, don't do this! I'm begging you!"

No words

"Please, I'm begging for mercy! This man is begging for mercy!"

"Feast on his flesh"

"NO!"

The lizards pounced, blood was spilled, flesh was torn, bones were broken, and a new monster arose from the chaos.

That monster's name, was Kuroda Ryou, the new Commander of the Black Operations division.

**End**

**A/N**

**Wow, that was a really long chapter, I think this is a new record.**

**So yeah, please tell me how you liked this chapter.**

**If you haven't figured it out by now, Kuroda's Bankai powers are relatively based off of the Four Horse Men of the Apocalypse.**

**The first horseman is the first stage of the Bankai, since the first horseman stands for Judgment, I decided I needed something that represented Judgment. So, I gave him wings, he's like, like an angel come down to judge mortals.**

**The second horseman is War and I'll admit that I went through a lot of ideas for this one. I figured since it was war that maybe I should give him some new offensive power. So I played with the idea of letting him shoot the feathers on his wings like a sort of barrage of projectiles. But that really wasn't a very original idea, plenty of people have already done that. I thought about it more and more, then I decided, what makes War, War, are the large scale conflicts between armies.**

**Armies, I went off that. Then I remembered watching an anime called Hellsing where the main character can summon this giant army of familiars. But I didn't want a giant army because that would just be cheating and overpowered. So I scaled it down, but I didn't want humanoids because that just didn't seem creative enough.**

**Then I started playing a game called Prototype 2, where the main character can summon a pack of these big ugly things called Brawlers.**

**Well Kuroda didn't have Brawlers, but he had those snake things that he summons. So I had an idea, where he summons kind of, evolved versions of those snakes. Then viola, you have Kuroda's second stage power.**

**It was really fun to wright about how they tore everyone apart. I'm sick in the head, I know.**

**But, yeah, I hope you liked this chapter. I took it as a chance to give some insight into Kuroda.**

**The next chapter will hopefully come out soon, the gang will finally leave Soul Society and we can get on to killing some arrancars!**

**Yay!**

**Also, I don't know how many people know this, but I actually have a deviant art page. I'm not very good at drawing but I did a few sketches to help inspire myself. Check it out, there's an old sketch of Kuroda I did like last December. Link is on my profile page.**

**Please review, favorite, subscribe and share!**

**Bye Bye!**

**Translations**

**Charge: Shintou Mori – Charge: Impact Lance**

**Execute: Handan Ono – Execute: Judge's Axe**

**Dainii no Dankai: Tatakau – Second Stage: War**


	30. Chapter 30

**I'm gonna warn all of you right off the bat, this chapter is going to be a bit drama filled. Possibly a bit sad, or really sad, because Kuroda is going to be…well…him. He's a very sad individual, god I feel bad for him, because I wrote him to be sad. That makes me feel horrible…just read so you don't have to watch me cry. *sniff* I'm so sorry man.**

Chapter 30

Really messed up

"Do you know where Kuroda went?" Itsumi asked the still chess playing Rajin and Keiji, as well as the still drinking Kaito.

"The Commander? No, not since he drank a cup of alcohol and left," replied Kaito as he downed another cup,

"I saw Yoruichi leave down the hall an hour or so ago," said Keiji as he moved his bishop, "maybe she's with him, those two stick together like glue, sort of."

"I see," said Itsumi, "I hope Kuroda is wearing enough, it looks like today might rain."

"He'll be fine," assured Rajin as he moved a rook, "he always is."

"I suppose so," said Itsumi, holding a sweater that she had meant to give her son, "he drank alcohol did he?"

"Yup," answered Kaito, pouring himself another glass, "You were there, don't you remember?"

"Well, it's just that Kuroda has such an aversion to alcohol. He's a bit weak to it and it always loosens his tongue about a few things," explained Itsumi, "and with Yoruichi with him, well, there's just no telling what will happen."

"He'll be fine," repeated Rajin, "always is."

( #*%&) #(*&%) (#*&%)( #*&%) (#&*%)( #*&%) (#&*%) #&%) #&*%)

"After that, I went for the Black Ops division's co-lieutenant, to the new Commander," said Kuroda. Yoruichi stood behind him as he looked out over the cliff and told his story. He didn't know what emotions or thoughts could be going through her head at the moment. Disgust, fear, maybe some realization, whatever she felt, he knew that she was finally seeing him for what he was.

"When Kaito and Rajin returned from the 4th division, they didn't question what had happened. They simply accepted it and moved on," continued Kuroda, "then, well, I assume you went through my profile as well, so you know what happened afterwards."

Kuroda turned around to see Yoruichi with her eyes downcast. A small sting struck his heart when he saw her so saddened, but he ignored it as he did any other feeling.

"Did you ever try?" she asked, her voice weak,

Kuroda hesitated, then said, "Once, or twice. The first time I tried to use AnShen to pierce my heart, he didn't let me. The second time, I think I tried to drink poison, that didn't work either."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I did, don't you remember?" he asked, "I told you, what had happened to my division. How the 3rd seat, killed my lieutenant and ran away. Then I told you how no search parties were made to find the 3rd seat, how my lieutenant was to lie in the ground unavenged. Then do you remember what you told me?"

Yoruichi winced, she remembered clearly.

"That the law wasn't perfect, but fair. I accepted that back then and I still tend to accept that now," he recounted, his tone shifting to anger "but just because I accepted it, doesn't mean that I was happy with it. The idea that I had choice but to accept a corrupt system, no choice but to accept corrupt law."

"You didn't tell me that it had been you that had killed your father," defended Yoruichi, "if you had-"

"Should it have made a difference?" roared Kuroda, whipping around, "should it really matter, if it had been me or another? Should it have mattered if it had been my father or some other lieutenant?"

Yoruichi didn't respond, instead she lowered her eyes again.

"It shouldn't have!" he declared, "Yoruichi, I would have gladly died for killing my father. By all rights I deserve to die for killing my father! But this system, these people who hold authority, they decided to deny me that! Then, when I decide that I can't take it anymore and that I have to take my own life, my own damn sword stops me! What's more, no one can kill me! I'm too damn powerful!"

By now Kuroda had begun to grab and pull at his own hair out of the pure amount of frustration he was starting to feel as he revealed his entire life.

Yoruichi stared at him with glistening sorrow in her eyes, "I'm sorry Kuroda,"

"You're sorry?" Kuroda asked, almost mockingly, "sorry doesn't help me anymore. It doesn't help me deal with all the crazy and psychotic things that I have going on in my head. It doesn't help the fact that no matter how strong I become, no matter how much I deaden myself in order to deal with my own problems, I can't seem to do anything right. It doesn't help me find a way to keep the other guys from taking over and wrecking carnage on every living thing in the world."

"On top of all of that, I am now reminded that I murdered my own father, something that I never should have done," he growled, though it seemed to be directed at himself rather than Yoruichi, "God dad, why didn't I just listen to you and stay out of the damned division."

"Kuroda," called Yoruichi, as she began to fear for his safety, she reached out and gently grabbed hold of his wrist, "just-"

"Don't touch me, don't get close to me!" he snapped, pulling himself from her grasp, "everyone whose gotten close to me has suffered! I don't know why, I just…whenever…"

Kuroda's voice suddenly dropped down to hushed whispers, his arms huddled into his body like a scared child and his eyes began to dart as though he were tracking some invisible fly.

"Kuroda,"

"It's always the same" she heard him whisper, "it's always the same…nice….dead…but don't know…me"

"Kuroda," she said, stepping towards him "are you alright?"

"No!" he growled suddenly, "No! Of course I'm not alright I'm a psychopath, I need a cage, a nice strong cage where I can lock myself up and…"

Yoruichi's concern began to grow. She remembered what she'd read in his file when she'd been looking for the truth of it all. Paranoia, suicide, those were the things highlighted in red. However she also remembered mental breakdowns, conversations with himself, hiding in solitude for days. But starting with her return into his life in the world of the living up till now, she'd kept a close eye on him, thus since nothing particularly big happened, she'd assumed that all of that had been cured.

So why was he acting like this now?

"I need to go," he stuttered, "I need to go somewhere, NO! I need to go to that place,"

"Where do you need to go," she asked urgently,

"I need to go to…to hell. I need to die," he mumbled,

Yoruichi's eyes widened, she quickly shifted her eyes to his zanpaktou. She didn't know if AnShen would interfere again if Kuroda attempted to impale himself, but she wasn't about to take chances.

"I deserved to die," he continued, as though she weren't two feet away from him,

"Kuroda," she called, placing his face between her hands and forcing him to turn to her, "listen, just calm down alright. Just calm down and tell me what's bothering you"

"What's bothering me," he asked, then made a small chuckled that seemed to be mixed with a sob, "I killed my dad. My dad is dead, I killed him."

Kuroda suddenly raised his hands to his face.

"Oh god," he said, "it's still there,"

"What's still there?"

"I need water," Kuroda suddenly began to walk back down the hill, "water, water now!"

"Kuroda wait!" called Yoruichi as she ran after him,

"Water," he murmured, arms wrapped around himself, "so much, blood."

Thankfully there was a small pond at the base of the hill. Kuroda rushed to it as though it were some life giving cure and quickly dipped his hands into it. He then began to rub the skin of his hands over and over again, almost violently trying to get rid of some unseen stain.

Yoruichi soon caught up to him, relieved to see he hadn't done anything extreme. As she walked up to him, he took a small pause and glanced up at her, then continued to fervently scrub his hands.

"It won't come off," he whispered, doubling his efforts, he looked up at her, and she saw fear. Yes, fear in his eyes, "why won't it come off?"

"Why won't what come off?"

"The blood," he whispered, fear evident in his eyes, "it won't come off!"

Kuroda shoved his hands back into the pond and scrubbed furiously. He scrubbed so hard that the skin on his hands began to become red and even have small bits peel off.

"God damn it," he whimpered, "why won't it come off?"

Suddenly, Kuroda let out a gasp of horror and jerked away from the pond, backing away as though it had turned to acid. Yoruichi hurried to his side, she placed a hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him and was surprised to find that he was actually shaking ever so slightly.

This deepened her concern, for the Kuroda she knew did not quiver like a frightened rabbit for any reason.

"It's all blood," she heard him whisper, "all of it, so much. So much death, so many I've killed. Their blood is becoming the sea, I can't wash it clean. There's no water left to wash it away."

"Kuroda, snap out of it!" Yoruichi gave him a small shake, whatever he was seeing was definitely not good, "come back! It's not real!"

"I need to go," Kuroda said, standing up, arms still wrapped around himself, "I need to be somewhere."

He began to walk towards another unknown destination, but something was off about the way he walked. He seemed to stagger constantly, as though he'd sustained some injury to his legs or was born crippled. In fact at times he'd stumble of course before stumbling right back onto course.

Yoruichi followed with a heavy heart, every time she reached out to try and persuade him to go back to the Black Ops barracks, he'd shake her off and mumble something about needing to be somewhere. It hurt her and confused her to see him like this, she couldn't understand what was going on and at the same time she felt like she knew exactly what was going on.

She wanted desperately to be able to calm him down, bring him back from whatever hellish illusion he was in. But for now, all she could do was support him as he walked to his destination, wherever that might be.

As they continued on, they eventually entered a forest.

"Huh?" asked Kuroda, though Yoruichi had said nothing,

"Oh ,yeah, I'm fine, just a lot on my mind is all" he continued, "No, we were never together, old man,"

'Whose he talking to?' wondered Yoruichi as Kuroda carried on a conversation with an invisible character,

Finally, Kuroda came to a halt. For a long moment, he simply stood there, his eyes gazing off to somewhere thousands of miles away. Then he fell to his knees and ran his hands through the grass, eyes methodically scanning for something. Five minutes passed without anything happening, then Kuroda glanced up at Yoruichi, then back at the ground.

"There's no blood here," he told her, his voice sounding as though he were in a dreamlike state, "it's like it never happened. No one can see the where, no one knows where, no one, except me."

"Knows what?" asked Yoruichi,

"My father lay right here," said Kuroda, "on his back, with blood spilling out of his chest where I stabbed him. I knelt by him like this and cried into his chest."

"Kuroda,"

"He never did anything wrong to me," he continued, "he never asked too much of me, he never pressured me into any path, never made me do something that I couldn't. He always trusted me and supported me as best he could. Then I killed him."

"I killed him, because someone else told me to," he continued, his voice beginning to quiver, "what am I supposed to tell my mother? That I had no other choice?"

Kuroda dropped to his hands and buried his face in the ground, then he began to shake ever so lightly. Yoruichi couldn't hear it, but even if it was the first time she'd ever seen it, she could tell, he was crying.

That hurt her more than any enemy could. Just watching her friend, who had always kept up the façade of a stone hearted warrior, capable of decimating entire legions, able to lead soldiers through impossible odds, to be brought to his knees by his own mind. What's worse, Yoruichi knew, deep down that the break down Kuroda was now suffering was most likely from her confronting him with the truth.

He had buried that memory, he had pushed it into a cage so far down that though he knew it existed, it barely ever passed his mind. Now she had gone where no one was allowed and opened that cage. Now the memories of what he had done had resurfaced and he was suffering as though it had just happened yesterday.

By now she could hear his sobs, it gripped her heart and made her want to join him. She knelt down beside him and placed a hand on his back.

"No!" he cried, pushing her away, "don't touch me! Don't affiliate yourself with me!"

He looked up at her, tears streaming down his face. "Why are you looking at me like that? What else could I do? I thought he was the traitor! All the signs…god…I thought it was the right thing to do!"

"I'm not blaming you for anything"

"Why are you trying to help me? Why are you always trying to help me you dumb bitch! If you keep trying, you'll just end up suffering!" he sobbed as he kept swinging his hand to keep her away, "go away! God damn it go away! I'm the one that's messed up, not you! Go! Before I screw up your life too!"

"Kuroda don't say-"

"God, why do I always screw up?" he asked his voice melding with his sobs, "Everyone around me…Kisuke, I'm so sorry, I should have kept her safe. Dad, I didn't want to kill you, please believe me. Shinji, Love, Mashiro, Kensei, Rojuro, Hiyori, Hachi, Lisa, I should never have let you come. Kaito, Rajin, I should have told you, I should have warned you what I had become. It's all because of me, all of this never should have happened, but I let it."

"You didn't do anything wrong" tried Yoruichi, "no one could have done better then you."

"It doesn't matter, what I tried, or what I did, or even what I choose" Kuroda pushed through his tears, "I'm what's wrong and there's nothing I can do about it. If what I do doesn't hurt myself, it hurts the people around me! There's nothing I can do about it, no matter how hard I try, it always blows up in my face."

His sobs began to grow in strength and intensity again. "I'm just, I'm just broken! I'm all messed up inside! Why am I even alive? Everyone else has so much, but I keep taking it away from them. I should be dead!"

"No don't say that," Yoruichi cut in, she wrapped her arm around his back, "come on, let's go-"

"Let go of me," he ordered, shaking her off and stumbling away, "I need, to be somewhere."

Kuroda suddenly disappeared in a burst of Shunpo,

"Kuroda!" Yoruichi immediately followed after him,

( #&*% #*(&%^( #*%^( #*^%( *#%^ #^%)#%) #%&*)(#&*%()#&* )#%&*()

_One week after the deaths of Commander Hoshigaki and co-lieutenant Taiju Ryou_

"I'm worried about him," said Rajin as he worked on a large stack of papers,

"Worried about what?" asked Taiju as he took a small drag from a pipe the let it out in a puff of smoke, "Kuroda is Commander now and he made you Lieutenant, what's there to worry about?"

"You haven't noticed that Kuroda has been acting a little…" Rajin paused to find the right word, "peculiar?"

"He just lost his father Rajin," snapped Kaito, "it's natural that he act a little 'peculiar'. His father was a big part of his life. Even if it did sound like they argued a lot, Taiju loved Kuroda and Kuroda loved him back. Something as strong as a bond between father and son, broken in a single instance, it's bound to have some consequences down the road."

Rajin stared at Kaito with wide eyes.

"Oh yeah," said Kaito, falling onto his back, "I can be deep."

"Still, I'm worried," repeated Rajin, "he hasn't come out of his room for a whole day."

"He just needs some time to himself," replied Kaito, taking another huff, "maybe I should offer him something strong to drink."

"alcohol is the last thing he needs," scolded Rajin, "what he needs is someone to be there for him, a shoulder to cry on if you will."

"Cry? This is Kuroda we're talking about right? He never cries,"

"Hmm, I just, feel like something bad is going to happen if we don't do something soon," explained Rajin,

"Yeah, I guess I can see what you're talking about," said Kaito, taking another huff, "they really need to find a better way to smoke. Pipe's nice and all but it's too damn big!"

The unexpectedly slid open, letting Kuroda into the room,

"Hey Commander! How's it hanging?" Kaito asked lazily,

"Fine," replied Kuroda, "Rajin, how's the recruitment process coming along?"

"We've got several possible candidates lined up sir," answered Rajin, "one from the 11th division, one from the kido corps, and two from the 2nd division."

"Go for the one from the 11th division," advised Kaito, "It'd be nice to see some of my old buddies."

"Have any of them achieved bankai?"

"Well…no sir, but with the right amount of time, they could achieve it soon," assured Rajin,

Kuroda sighed and rubbed his neck, "I suppose at the moment we can't be too picky. We'll go to see what they have to offer in an hour or so."

"Yes sir,"

"While your finishing up, put in an order for some stronger rope," Kuroda placed two pieces of rope on the desk, "the type we have isn't strong enough."

"What were you doing with rope?" asked Kaito,

"Trying to hang myself,"

Kuroda exited the room, leaving the two Black Operatives speechless. Kaito sat up and looked to Rajin, eyes pleading for him to say that Kuroda was just joking.

Rajin hesitantly took the two pieces of rope. Kaito saw his eyes widen, the lieutenant held up one of the pieces.

"Oh shit," muttered Kaito,

One of the pieces had been tied into a loop.

(*&! #&*&^(#%^ #*(&%^( #*&%#%*( #^)#%& %& )&)% #)^%) #&) #%&))

Kuroda rubbed the area around his neck. Stupid rope, breaking on him like that, if it hadn't snapped when it did he wouldn't have to be dealing with this now.

He sighed, eyes still stinging and throat still sore.

No use regretting the past right now, because right now the problem that was his existence would be fixed pretty soon.

With that thought in mind, he continued his walk towards the Soukyoku hill.

( #(%&* )#(%*&)#(%&*) #*&) #%*(& )(#&%* ()#&%*)#&(% )#&)&)%#$& )#&%)

"Please tell me that on your rounds, he told you he was joking," pleaded Kaito,

Rajin shook his head remorsefully. "I couldn't bring myself to ask him, how could I? How do you ask someone if they're trying to commit suicide?"

"We have to tell someone," decided Kaito, "let's go tell Yoru-"

"No! Above all else, Yoruichi must not know! Kuroda cares for her more than anyone else. Telling her might just speed up his process."

Kaito sighed in frustration, "well, who then?"

A few minutes later

"How the hell do you have cameras all around Seireitei?" asked Kaito as he and Rajin looked at Kisuke's display.

"By placing them very carefully," replied the blond man, "but in all seriousness, Kuroda is really trying to kill himself?"

They both nodded grimly

"I knew his father's death hit him hard, but to go this far?" Kisuke scowled, "I have noticed he's been a bit off. Maybe if I talk to him…"

"That might not be the best idea," Rajin put in, "confronting him about it could just make it worse."

"We just hoped that you could help us keep an eye on him," explained Kaito, "maybe even figure out what's wrong. Kuroda is no stranger to death, it comes with the territory. His father's death was hard on him yes, but, we just feel it shouldn't done **this** to him."

"I suppose you two are right, I just-"

"Hey look, there he is right now," interrupted Kaito,

Kisuke turned around and sure enough on one of his monitors was Kuroda. Walking down the streets of Seireitei like any other day.

"He looks fine," said Kisuke, then added, "at least, for now."

"I've got a really bad feeling about this," mumbled Rajin,

"don't jinx it!" scolded Kaito,

"Uh oh," they both heard, Kisuke pressed in to the monitor, "looks like the jinx worked."

Kuroda suddenly began to grip his head between his hands and let out small groans of pain. He mumbled incoherently and stumbled against a wall.

"you two better get over there," said Kisuke, "in his unstable state, there's no telling what might happen."

"Right," the two of them burst out the door at full speed.

Kisuke hoped that they would get there before someone else did.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Too late

Kaito and Rajin rushed to Kuroda's location as quickly as their legs would carry them. They appeared as only streams of dust as they ran with all haste, doors were flung open as they passed, people were blown down where they stood, but for all their effort, they still weren't fast enough.

"I'm a member of the 4th division, I can help you,"

"Get away from me!" he growled Kuroda,

His mind was beginning to break. So much stress, so much death, even Kuroda could only take so much. This was the day, that the Other one, was born.

"Come on, I'll take you to the 4th division barracks and we can take a look at you" the unfortunate shinigami placed a hand on his shoulder,

"Don't touch me!"

AnShen came out of it's sheath, it's razor sharp blade sliced into the man's throat, digging it's way in. Blood burst out from the man's neck and splattered across Kuroda's face like paint. The man fell to the ground, gurgling his own life force.

Kuroda, still enraged, silenced the noise by stabbing AnShen down into the annoyance's heart.

It was just then that Kaito and Rajin showed up.

"Jesus!" Kaito cried out, "what the hell! Kuroda!"

Kuroda was breathing heavily, the realization of what he'd just done hit him like a ton of bricks. He'd murdered again! He'd killed with no reason!

He was losing control of himself, it had happened so fast, just a quick impulse of instinct.

Just looking at the body made him feel so…so…good.

"I just killed someone," he whispered,

"Damn it," cursed Rajin, "come on, we've got to get him out of here before someone sees."

"I just killed someone,"

"I know, I know," Kaito said as he approached Kuroda, "it's alright, we'll get this straightened out."

"But I don't want to get it straightened out," Kuroda stood up and turned to the two, "because it felt so good!"

Kaito and Rajin felt a chill run down their spine. Those eyes, Kuroda's eyes had changed. They were no longer the unfeeling and cold eyes they had come to know from Kuroda. Nor were they the rarely seen warm and understanding eyes he saved for those closest to him.

These eyes belonged to a man who had given into the exhilaration, the adrenaline pumping, heart thumping thrill of killing, of seeing blood flow from the body, of seeing the life slowly drain from the eyes of a victim.

Then there was that grin, that horrible grin that neither of them would ever forget for the rest of their lives. It was a smile that someone truly happy could make, but perverted to the desire to see flesh cut.

"It feels so good," said Kuroda as though he were in some sort of hallucinogenic induced state, "I feel like I'm free. I should kill someone else."

(# (%&() #*%&)#(&%_ #&%_#&%_ &#) #(&%)( #&%) #%&()(&&%# )%&))#%&*)

_Don't do this boy!_

Kuroda winced as he climbed up to the top of the Soukyoku hill. AnShen had become more talkative of late, probably because the zanpaktou knew what Kuroda was about to attempt. But he ignored AnShen as easily as drew breath.

_Do not throw your life away so carelessly! I still have use for you!_

Kuroda shut the spirit out of his mind and continued his climb.

He felt so tired, he just wanted a break, an end to all of it. But life was determined not to let him rest, to continue putting him to work.

He did feel like he needed to be doing something, something very important. But, at the moment, he let himself forget it. Right now, he just needed some rest. A nice, long rest.

Hmm, he was at the top. The climb was a lot shorter than he anticipated. He walked towards the edge of the hill.

_Kuroda! Wait, think about this! Remember, Aizen! You still have to kill Aizen!_

Kuroda, just by the very tip of the hill gave a small pause. Aizen, that's what he'd forgotten about. He still needed to do something about that.

After a few seconds of thought, he came to an answer.

'They'll be fine without me,' he responded to his zanpaktou,

_I will not allow you to do this!_

"Try and stop me," he whispered, he draw AnShen from its sheath and planted it behind himself, "not this time AnShen,"

He gave one last glance to his zanpaktou, the weapon he had held for so many years. It screamed out to him, it was almost enough to make him turn back. But no, his mind was set.

He took his first step over the edge.

"Kuroda!"

Kuroda glanced over his shoulder again and saw Yoruichi sprinting towards him her hand reaching out as though trying to grab him before his fall.

"I'm sorry," he whispered,

Then he was falling.

It felt kind of calming to be honest, wind rushing through his hair, the sound of his cloak violently flapping. It all had a certain amount of peacefulness to it, something that quelled his mind. He felt like he was letting go of something that had been nagging on him for a long time.

But when he looked up, all he could see was Yoruichi's distressed face, there might have even been a few tears.

That would be his one regret, going to the grave while that image was still fresh in his mind.

Maybe he shouldn't kill himself, seeing Yoruichi sad was not a good way to send himself off to the-

Yoruichi saw the burst of dust and rock as Kuroda hit the ground. Fearing the worst, she grabbed AnShen and jumped off the cliff herself.

Kuroda had once said that AnShen had stopped him from killing himself once, maybe it could do it again.

Gathering reiatsu onto the soles of her feet, she cushioned the impact of the fall and landed right next to Kuroda's unmoving body.

"Kuroda!" she knelt down to his side,

No response

She grabbed his hand and placed AnShen in his palm and hoped that the sword could save her friend.

5 seconds passed

10 seconds passed

Nothing

"Kuroda!" she called again, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and shook him, "come on, wake up! You can't die! There's no way a fall from that height killed you!"

It was just then that Yoruichi noticed a rather large stream of blood flowing down Kuroda's forehead.

She pressed her ear onto his chest and listened for a heartbeat, praying to any god that would listen that she would find one.

But she didn't, there was no heartbeat, just silence.

Yoruichi's heart sank. She'd seen death before, lost men and women, but to be truthful, she'd never lost someone so…close and never to a cause like this.

Tears wormed their way to her eyes,

"You idiot!" she screamed into his chest, "you stupid, pig headed, idiot!"

Rain began to fall on them, soaking their clothes and bodies, but she hardly cared. What was some rain compared to the loss of someone so dear and close. Water dripped down her face, whether it was rain or tears, she couldn't tell, probably both.

"This is all my fault," she realized as she cried, "if I had been there for you, if I hadn't been screwing around all the time. If only I had-"

She couldn't say anymore, she was crying to hard and couldn't squeeze anything else out.

Just a month ago they'd finally gotten to see each other, and ever since then she'd never spent any time trying to catch up with him. Never tried to make up for leaving for a whole century. She'd just caused him frustration, all her teasing to try and get him to open up, meant nothing now. He was dead.

She would have stayed there all day and all night, crying her heart out into his chest as the rain cried with her. She would have, if a grumble hadn't interrupted her.

"Why the hell are you crying?"

Yoruichi looked up from Kuroda's chest and met his eyes. The world stopped spinning for a single second as the two of them stared at each other.

"Are you going to answer my question or just stare at me all day?" asked Kuroda, "and why are you staying out here in the rain? You're going to catch a cold if you do that."

Yoruichi suddenly lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into the tightest hug he'd ever been in.

"I'm crying because of you, you idiot!" she said in a tone that was a cross between attempted anger and true happiness. It also didn't help that she was now crying, but out of joy.

"I thought, that, you'd died," she said between sobs,

"Well," said Kuroda, a bit caught off guard by her display of emotion, "I've survived a head on attack from old man Yamamoto, I doubt a fall from that height could kill me. Though…I do feel a bit dizzy."

Kuroda reached up and felt the top of his head, when he brought his hand back down he was rewarded with a palm full of blood.

"Hm, would you look at that,"

"But, I listened for your heart," she remembered, "I put my ear to your chest, I didn't hear anything."

"Which side of my chest?"

"Your left," she answered,

"Oh, well, my heart actually leans to the right instead of the left," explained Kuroda, "never thought that little oddity would cause someone else trouble."

Despite the situation, Yoruichi let out a small chuckle.

"Come on," said Yoruichi, wiping the last of her tears away, "we should get you back home."

( #%* #)(*&% ()#*&%)(*&#%)*( &#%) #&*%()#&%) #&%)&#&%) )

"I'm worried, Kuroda still hasn't come back," said Itsumi,

"Don't worry," said Kaito, who was now smoking a cigarette, "I'm sure their fine, at worst, they're in the rain and they'll come back all wet. Then we'll shove them in a room together and they'll have to change in the same room."

"And at best?" asked Keiji, who was examining a stolen vase he'd taken from some random noble's house, "wonder what I can get for this on the market."

"At best," said Kaito, taking a drag from his cigarette, "they're under a tree, holding each other tightly to share body heat. Then, they'll lose control and begin taking each other's clothes off and-"

"Stop right there," ordered Keiji,

"I suppose you're right, either of those scenarios are good," Itsumi said happily, "I wonder what my grandchild will look like."

Keiji slapped his hand onto his forehead, "where are the sensible people when you need them?"

"Excuse me,"

The group turned to the door to see Ichigo, "but, have you guys seen Kuroda?"

They all shook their heads.

"Oh, I see," said Ichigo, concern evident on his face, "it's just, I think he's having some trouble with Yoruichi right now. She looked pretty steamed when I last saw her,"

"It's always like that between the two of them," sighed Kaito, "don't think too much on it kid,"

"Oh, are you sure? Cause Yoruichi looked really, really-"

"Don't worry about it, things always work out between those two in the end," assured Kaito, "the real problem between those two is that they're backed up from head to toe from not getting laid their entire lives."

"Wha-" Ichigo blushed,

"It's true, when two people who want each other try to deny it, things like this happen," explained Kaito, "or in this case, when just one of the people try to deny it."

"I don't even-"

"You ever get laid kid?"

"I'm 16 years old!" protested Ichigo,

"So?"

"I'm underage!"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that stupid rule," said Kaito, "well have you at least made out with a girl?"

"Uh…well…you see"

"pfft, you haven't have you?" laughed Kaito, "I need to hook you up with someone kid."

"What? I don't need your help, I just haven't had any time to-"

"Yeah that's what they all say," interrupted Kaito, sitting up and taking another drag from his cigarette, "don't worry kid, my girlfriend knows quite a few nice girls. I'll introduce you to some of them. Trust me, in Soul Society, strong guys like us are total chick magnets. Doesn't matter how young you are, the fan girls just start rolling in."

"Look I really don't need help to-"

"Oh that's right, you've got that Kuchiki girl right?"

"You mean Rukia, she's not really-"

"Bold move kid, going for a noble. A bit brash seeing as her brother is a captain and all, but good move," complimented Kaito, "I hear she's a cute looking thing too, you've got good taste."

"She's not my girlfriend!" protested Ichigo,

"Really?" asked Itsumi, "because from what I've seen, you two really seem to like each other."

"Well-"

"Also you two act just like Kuroda and Yoruichi when they were younger,"

"ugh," groaned Kuroda, 'I don't know how Kuroda puts up with these people.'

"Itsumi!"

"That sounded like Yoruichi," said Itsumi as she stood up to answer the call,

She exited passed Ichigo and hurried down the hall.

It was just then that Rajin entered the room, eyes wide with concern. "Kaito!"

"Ow! Yell a little louder why don't you?" complained the 3rd seat,

"I was in Kuroda's office, I think Yoruichi found the secret compartment for our mission files,"

Kaito gagged, "w-what? Was anything missing?"

"Kuroda's psychological profile and…that mission,"

"Uh oh,"

"Uh oh what?" asked Ichigo, thoroughly confused, "what's so bad about Yoruichi finding these profiles."

"Kid, you know how Kuroda is not exactly sorted out upstairs?"

"Well…yeah,"

"Trust us when we say it is a lot worse than you know it," said Kaito, now on his feet,

"Coming through," announced Itsumi, a second later she passed by the room with Kuroda being dragged along by Yoruichi,

"Oh shit!" cursed Kaito, "it already happened!"

"What already happened?" asked Ichigo with growing impatience,

"No time to explain," said Rajin, "Kaito, go get Teruno!"

"On it!"

"Ichigo, Keiji, with me, we have to make sure Kuroda doesn't try anything until Teruno can restrict him!"

Before Ichigo could ask anything else, Rajin and Keiji went dashing down the hall after Kuroda and Yoruichi.

"What the-"

"Come on kid!"

"Uh…right! Coming!"

((* #%&()*%& )#(*%&) (#%&() #&#%() &*%)&( #)%&# %)(&*) &%) #&%*) )

"a month after we get back…is…the end…of break," Kuroda said,

"Wow, he hit his head really hard," observed Itsumi as she dabbed a cloth to the injury,

Yoruichi looked on in silence.

Keiji and Kaito stood guard outside, Rajin overlooked things in the room.

There was a knock on the door, "I'm here"

Teruno stepped into the room, "how bad is it?"

"Not too bad, just a small head injury," answered Itsumi, "it's made him a bit dizzy and…delusional."

"Kisuke hides a box of rice crackers under the floor boards," announced Kuroda as if to prove Itsumi's point,

"But other than that, he hasn't tried anything,"

"Still, it's best to be cautious," said Teruno,

"Bakudo #63: Sajo Sabaku!"

A golden chain sprung out from Teruno's fingers and wrapped itself around Kuroda like an anaconda, completely immobilizing him.

"That should hold him for now," said Teruno,

"Hey," whispered Ichigo from outside, "how come they're tying up Kuroda?"

"So he doesn't try to kill himself again," answered Kaito,

"What? He's tried to do that before?"

"Multiple times," said Kaito, "sometimes in the same day. Kuroda has seen some messed up stuff kid, more than any of us ever will. Everyone has a breaking point on how much crazy they can take, Kuroda broke his limit long ago."

"Whoa, I had no idea, he always just seemed really…quiet,"

"I know what you mean," said Kaito, "we probably don't need you here anymore, why don't you go off and find that girl of yours."

"You mean Rukia? She's not my-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, just get out of here kid, you don't need to see this,"

Ichigo gave an understanding nod and left the Black Operative to guard the door.

Kaito slid the door open, Itsumi came walking out,

"how is he?" asked Kaito

"I don't think we'll be having any problems with him," answered Itsumi, "his head injury wasn't too bad, so there's no danger there. He's asleep so there probably won't be any more…suicide attempts."

Kaito noticed that the 5th seat had to put some extra effort to say those last two words. It must have been hard for a mother to know that her child was trying to purposefully take away their own life. Why shouldn't she be upset, she had put many years into trying to raise her child and to find that it may all come to nothing was probably heart breaking.

"Are you okay?" asked Keiji,

"I'm fine," she replied, taking a deep breath, "it's just…I had hoped that he'd stopped this long ago."

"It always gets worse, before it gets better," said Keiji,

"I suppose," she replied, "why don't you two go to bed. I'll stay with him for a little longer."

"Are you sure? Kuroda is pretty good at feigning sleep," Kaito reminded,

"It's alright, I still have Teruno and Rajin,"

"Alright," Kaito said reluctantly,

Both he and Keiji left afterwards, leaving Rajin and Teruno with the duty of guarding the Commander.

Itsumi reentered the room and found that Yoruichi sill knelt at her son's side. It warmed her heart as a mother to see that Kuroda had people who cared about him so much, yet it also tore at her because Yoruichi had not moved from that spot for quite some time and she still wore that tortured look on her face as she watched over Kuroda.

"Maybe you should get some rest," Itsumi suggested to the woman as she knelt down beside her.

Yoruichi shook her head "I'd prefer to stay with him,"

Itsumi smiled, "you really care about him don't you?"

Yoruichi smiled as well, she didn't deny it.

"I'm glad he has someone like you to be at his side," said Itsumi, "it makes me feel a bit more at ease, knowing that you'll be there."

Yoruichi lost her smile, "I don't know, I haven't been doing a very good job of watching over him so far."

"You didn't know," Itsumi said comfortingly, "no one ever told you, you couldn't have done anything about it."

Yoruichi just lowered her head in silent shame.

"Do you know what made him do it?" asked Itsumi, the question had been plaguing her for a long time now. Kuroda had gone for over two centuries without a single incident since the last, for him to do it again, now, was something of a mystery.

Yoruichi seemed to ponder the question for a few minutes, then shook her head.

"I see," said Itsumi as if she knew Yoruichi was not telling the truth, "perhaps it was simply a consequence of becoming our Commander again."

With motherly care, Itsumi reached over and softly stroked Kuroda's face.

"My poor boy, he didn't deserve this. He just wanted to do the right thing, but they made him do the wrong thing," Itsumi whispered, "even after it was clear that he wasn't mentally healthy, Central 46 still made him work."

Yoruichi's eyes widened slightly, though to be honest she wasn't surprised.

"What happened the last time he…" Yoruichi searched for the right words, "had an, incident."

Itsumi frowned, "the last time something like this happened. Looking back I'm not sure if I'm happy or horrified of what happened."

"The last time Kuroda had an incident, he killed someone. A member of the 4th division who happened to be just passing by, Kuroda had another break down and the 4th division member tried to help him out. I think, in the pain, Kuroda instinctively lashed out and killed him. When Rajin and Kaito arrived on the scene, Kuroda…he wasn't the same anymore, he was different."

"He nearly killed us both," Rajin added from outside,

Itsumi nodded as she grimly remembered the event, "I had to come over and help, luckily, we managed to restrain him just long enough for me to sedate him."

"How was he different?" asked Yoruichi,

"He just…enjoyed it all," replied Itsumi, "he enjoyed all the killing, he enjoyed the death. He didn't view Taiju's death as a horrible event, but as the highlight of his life. When we sedated him and he came back, he was normal again. But…something tells me, that the thing he made that day, never went away."

"Gave me fairly big scar too," Rajin again added, "right down the back,"

Yoruichi continued to sit there next to Kuroda throughout the rest of the night. Rajin and Teruno both left when they were satisfied that Kuroda would not be waking up anytime soon. Itsumi went to sleep and Yoruichi's insistence when it looked like the women would pass out at any moment from both exhaustion and worry.

That left only Yoruichi to watch over the Commander.

As she watched, she began to feel sleep coming to her. Her head began to nod and her eyes began to flutter between opened and shut. She would have fallen to sleep if Kuroda did not suddenly stir.

"Mmmm," he grumbled,

"Kuorda?" she asked, now very awake, "are you still asleep?"

His eyes opened, "I would be, but my head hurts."

For some reason, Yoruichi broke into laughter.

"What's so funny?" asked Kuroda as she laughed,

"Nothing," she replied, wiping a tear from her eye, "I'm just, glad that you're alright."

"Not really alright," he grumbled as he sat up while massaging his temple, "I'm a little thirsty,"

Yoruichi chuckled some more, "here, have some water"

She poured him a glass from a pitcher that Itsumi had left just in case he woke up. He gratefully took the glass and downed it in a few gulps.

"Ugh," he gasped, "how long have I been out?"

"About 5 hours," she answered, "I brought you back to the barracks and go your mother to treat your head crack."

"Oh, I see," he said, noticing that they were indeed in the Black Ops barracks.

"Do you, remember what happened?" Yoruichi asked carefully,

"I wish I didn't," he replied dryly, "I'm…I'm sorry you had to see me like that"

"No," sighed Yoruichi, "I should be the one saying sorry,"

"Huh?"

"If I hadn't gone messing through your things, found that stupid folder, and made you tell me the truth," she explained, "then you wouldn't have had to go through all of that."

"You deserved to know," Kuroda said, "I should have told you before, but I didn't. You would have found out eventually anyway, I suppose now is better than later."

There was a pause of silence, before Yoruichi finally asked, "why didn't you tell me?"

Kuroda hesitated for a moment, contemplating what he should say.

"What was I to tell you?" he asked back, "that I'd killed my own father? Would you still have treated me the same way if I'd told you? Would you still be able to tease me, to play with me, to blackmail me with that stupid bathing schedule?"

"You were, worried about how I would think of you?"

"I guess," he answered, "I just-"

SLAP!

"Ow," Kuroda said calmly, "I guess I deserved that"

"Yeah, you did," agreed Yoruichi, "why would you care what I thought of you?"

"It's not like telling you would have made a difference," Kuroda said, ignoring her question, "I most likely would have still gone crazy."

"That's not what I asked" Yoruichi said sternly, "why would you care what I thought of you?"

Kuroda was silent. He sighed and tried to find a way out of this, he couldn't. He'd just trapped himself and the only way to get out of the trap was to spring it.

"Because…" he started, them murmured something to quiet to hear

"What?" asked Yoruichi, pushing her ear closer,

He murmured it again,

"What?"

Kuroda sighed out of frustration and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I like you, okay?" he said quite clearly,

At first, Yoruichi was stunned. Kuroda had always been kind to her, always treated her like an equal and like a friend. They had shared many adventures together as children, ever since she picked him up from that dusty road and paid for the medicine he'd stolen.

But for the entire time that they'd known each other, the affection they shared with each other had always been an unspoken one. They never needed to tell each other that they liked each other, they just knew it.

So for Kuroda to finally openly admit it, was something of a revelation. It only made sense that Yoruichi would sit there, stunned for a good moment. Of course, when the moment passed and the surprise subsided, she regained her devilish disposition. A Cheshire smile spread across her lips.

"Uh oh," muttered Kuroda, knowing that he was about to regret what he'd just said,

"Could you say that again?" Yoruichi asked slyly, "I couldn't quite hear it."

"Yoruichi, please don't-"

"Please? Do a girl a favor" she asked coyly while dramatically batting her eyelashes,

"Ugh," he groaned, "I like you,"

"Say again?"

"I like you," he repeated,

"Again?"

"I. Like. You." He said slowly and as clearly as possible, "I like you"

Yoruichi smiled, "that's what I thought, but your still an idiot,"

"Come on Yoruichi," pleaded Kuroda, "you were the first friend I had, the first person who wouldn't turn away from me because I wore rags and came from a lower part of Rukongai, the first person to invite me into your house and not be afraid that I would steal something. You've been a support for me throughout all of it, even when you found me over that dead body, you stayed by me."

"When I killed my father, everything seemed to be falling apart. I lost almost everything. I was afraid, that if I told you what I'd done, you'd…leave. I don't want to lose you too."

Yoruichi smiled the biggest, happiest, most emotional smile she'd ever make. She wrapped her arms around Kuroda's neck and gently brought him into a warm hug. Much to her surprise, Kuroda returned that hug just as warmly.

"Do you think all this trouble is over?" she asked as she enjoyed the warmth of his body,

"No," he answered truthfully,

"Well, at least this time I'll be there with you," she joked, "I won't leave like last time. That's what got you into this mess, this time I'll be right by you."

"You think I got messed up just because you weren't there?" asked Kuroda, "big ego you've got there,"

"Shut up and enjoy the moment," chuckled Yoruichi,

Kuroda smiled ever so lightly, "Yoruichi?"

"Hmm?"

"Remember when I…uh…first came to watch you bathe?"

"Mmhmm,"

"And how you…hugged me from behind?"

"How could I forget?"

Kuroda blushed heavily, "you did something to my neck, what was it?"

"Oh, that," Yoruichi said slyly, "just this,"

Unexpectedly, she pressed her lips against the nape of his neck. Kuroda convulsed from the surprise of her actions as much as the embarrassing pleasure he found in it.

When she finished, Yoruichi looked up at him with a knowing smile.

"Don't think that means anything," warned Kuroda unconvincingly,

Yoruichi rolled her eyes, "whatever, good night Kuroda."

She then leaned her head into his chest and almost immediately began to sleep. Kuroda didn't even try to protest, he knew from recent experience that it was rather futile to do so. Besides, he was admittedly starting to enjoy it, but he'd never tell Yoruichi that.

As she slept against his chest, Kuroda every now and then reached up and touched the part of his neck that she had kissed. He remembered quite clearly, the first time she'd done that, she'd mentioned something about being more than just friends.

He also remembered, never being able to answer that, and that even though she didn't ask today, one day she'd ask for him to tell her more of his secrets.

Kuroda sighed, for he did not know if he could ever hope to find an answer for either situation.

But at the moment, he did not focus on that. He lay back down and allowed Yoruichi's head to remain on his chest, he also untied her ponytail for her so that she might sleep more comfortably.

"I am so messed up" were his last words before falling back asleep,

( #%) #(*&% (#&*% #()&#%)( #&*%)( #&*%) (#&*%) #&*%)#&%* )#(%&)

Kuroda woke to see Yoruichi still sleeping on his chest, instead of waking so they he could rise, he found himself enjoying the moment. Then, like he had at the tree the day before he was reinstated, he stroked her hair, running his fingers through her traquilizing locks.

It wasn't long before Yoruichi also woke. She stretched herself out, amusingly like a cat would do, and stared up at Kuroda with her large golden eyes.

"Enjoying yourself?" she asked,

"A little" he admitted, "but I think I'd enjoy myself more if I had breakfast."

"Hm, I could use some of that myself," she remarked, pushing herself off his chest,

Together the two of them rose, there was no need to dress as they had both fallen asleep in their clothes. The only thing that really needed doing was retying Yoruichi's ponytail.

"Ready to go get some food?" she asked after she finished her hair. Kuroda's response was to open the door and motion for her to lead the way.

"Ladies first,"

The two of them made their way to the barracks mess hall and found that the rest of the division was already there along with Ichigo, Chad, Orihime, and Uryu.

As soon as they entered, all eyes immediately turned to them. Kuroda ignored their stares and sat down at the table next to Chad, Yoruichi took her seat next to him.

"G-Good morning Kuroda" Orihime said cheerily, "Wonderful day today isn't it?"

"I suppose," he replied, even though he had no idea what the weather outside looked like,

Orihime frowned and whispered something to Uryu, he caught a few words, most of them about depression or the like.

"How did you sleep dearie?" asked Itsumi as she set out the food,

"I slept good," he replied bluntly,

There seemed to be an overpowering release of tension among his division as he said those words. Kaito even went as far as to wipe his forehead.

"Don't feel like killing yourself anymore?" asked Ichigo,

Rajin and Kaito immediately tackled the orange haired teen and slapped a hand over his mouth.

"You idiot kid, shut up!" Kaito whispered harshly,

"No, I don't feel like killing myself anymore," Kuroda replied nonchalantly as he picked up a piece of toast, "could you please hand me the jelly?"

"Grape or strawberry," asked Yoruichi as she drank her milk,

"Strawberry," she handed him the jar and even gave him a spreading knife, the two of them eating as though nothing had happened.

The rest of the group were a bit taken aback by their lack of concern for the incident that had happened yesterday.

"Are you sure your feeling alright?" asked Keiji

"Never better, Chad could you please pass those steambuns?"

Chad, who was acting the most normal out of the whole group, handed Kuroda the buns. Kuroda grabbed one and offered the plate to Yoruichi, who also took one.

The others also began to eat, but their eyes noticeably darted to Kuroda every few seconds.

"Hey pass that ham,"

Chad did,

"Where is that ham knife,"

Unknown to Kuroda, Uryu held the ham knife behind his back. It had been agreed on before Kuroda had come that they would hide such sharp objects from him.

"Oh, here it is!"

"What?" whispered Uryu, "there's another one! Ichigo!"

"Hey I didn't know there were two!" the teen defended,

All eyes watched Kuroda as he cut the ham, "You want some Yoruichi?"

"Sure," she said, holding out her plate,

Needless to say, the only one who had a regular breakfast were those two.

"Are you all packed up?" asked Kuroda at the end of the meal,

"Yup!" said Orihime,

"Mm," grunted Chad,

"All ready to go," said Ichigo

"Alright, you better make your way to the Senkaimon," he suggested as he stood up from the table, "thanks for the breakfast mom,"

"Aren't you coming with us?" asked Orihime, the other three looked equally confused.

"Something I have to do first," he replied, "I'll catch up later."

As he left the room, an exchange of worried faces went around the remaining people.

"Don't worry," said Yoruichi, standing up as well, "I'll go take care of him."

( #%& )(#*%& #(*%& )#(*%& #)(&% #)(%&* #)(%&* )#&(%) #%&))

Kuroda took in a deep breath, this was admittedly embarrassing. After fighting, Komamura, Yamamoto, and Aizen, his biggest challenge came from opening this damn door.

"Okay" he told himself, "I can do this, it's just a damn door."

He reached out for the handle, but just as his fingers curled around it, he suddenly ripped his hand back.

"Damn! This is going to be harder than I thought," he cursed,

"Having trouble?"

Kuroda turned to see Yoruichi standing in the door way. Kuroda sighed, "I still can't open the door to my own quarters."

"Let me help you with that," she offered,

"No, I need to be the one to open it," he replied,

"I know, just let me help you do it," she clarified, "go on, try to open it."

Kuroda looked at her incredulously but he did as she asked. Once more, he reached for the handle of the door, hand shaking the entire journey. His fingers, wrapped around the handle, then, just like last time, he felt an overwhelming urge to pull away.

He would have done so just like last time, if Yoruichi's hand did not spring forth and stop him.

His hand, amazingly, remained on the handle.

"Now slide it open," she said gently. He did just that, slowly at first, but then with more strength and speed, until finally, it hit a bump. Kuroda furrowed his eyebrows, but soon realized that the door had slid fully open.

"Now walk inside," she gestured,

Kuroda did just that. He looked around his room, it didn't look like anything special, in fact it looked exactly the way he'd left it a century ago. Except…

"Why is there a giant hole in the floor boards?" he asked, turning to his companion,

"Oh, yeah, you should get these boards checked for rot or something," she replied,

"Uh huh," he said suspiciously, he didn't press further since the issue was insignificant. Instead he smiled warmly at her and she smiled in return.

'Where would I be without you' he wondered,

He had entered his room, now it was time to do what he needed. He untied the string holding his cloak together and pulled it over his head. Yoruichi stretched out her arms, apparently knowing what he was about to do. He nodded a silent thanks and handed her his cloak.

The Commander then moved to the dresser sitting at the back of his quarters, he grasped the handles of both doors and pulled them open.

Inside, he found his old Commander's shirt. Nothing set it apart from the shirts the other operatives wore except for the inscriptions on the shirt's back, a tradition that Kuroda himself had started.

He quickly stripped of the borrowed shihakusho that had been loaned to him from the 4th division and grabbed it. Donning it again like he had many times in the past, gave him a strange sense of nostalgia.

The shirt fit snugly against his skin and he felt a rising sense of power from wearing it.

"Looks good on you," remarked Yoruichi,

Kuroda wordlessly took the cloak back from her and replaced it around his shoulders.

"Let's go, the others are waiting,"

(#(%& #()*&%) #(*%& )#(%&*) #&%) #&%) #&*(%) &# )%#() %&)

"This is the Senkai gate that shinigami normally use," explained Captain of the 13th division, Jushiro Ukitake,

"this time you'll have spirit exchangers for you three," he said, motioning to the three regular humans, "so you won't have to deal with the Dangai Cleaner."

"Good," said Ichigo, "I hated that thing the first time."

"Oh, that reminds me, I've got something for you Ichigo," said Ukitake, he reached into his shihakusho robes and pulled out an object. He extended his hand and held out what looked to be a badge.

Ichigo took the badge and held it up to his face to examine it. The badge had the shape of an upside down pentagon with what looked like a skull with the exact same shape, placed upon an X.

"What is it?" he asked,

"It's a substitute shinigami's badge," answered the Captain, "in our history, when a substitute is created and is judged as beneficial to Soul Society, it was decided to give them that badge as a symbol of their status. It works much like a Gikon, you can use it to become a shinigami whenever you want."

"Cool," smiled Ichigo, "this will definitely come in handy."

"It's nothing really, it doesn't even begin to start to repay what you've done for us here,"

"Aw, don't worry about, I don't really want you guys to repay me," assured the substitute, "I did what I did because I wanted. But hey, I'd really appreciate it if you took care of Rukia."

Ukitake was stunned by the teen's selfness for a brief moment,

'Kuroda, you've been searching for someone like this young man for many years, I'm glad you finally found him.'

"Sorry we're late,"

Speak of the devil. The group turned to see Kuroda and Yoruichi walking towards them, but only Ukitake noticed that Kuroda seemed to walk with a new found confidence in his strides.

"About time you showed up," Ichigo called back, "what were you doing anyway?"

"Just needed this shirt again, if I'm going to be the Commander of my division again, I might as well dress for the part as well," replied Kuroda,

"You mean that shirt? But it looks like a normal shirt," noticed Orihime,

"It has inscriptions on the back," explained Kuroda,

"Oh really? Can I see?" she asked curiously,

"Maybe some time later, right now we-"

"DAD!"

"Oh boy," groaned Kuroda, he whipped around just in time to block an incoming double kick, "Mei, not right now,"

"You were going to leave without saying good bye!" she yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"I'm probably going to see you really soon," he pointed out,

"Yeah, well, that's no reason to not say good bye to your daughter," she pouted, turning away from him angrily.

Kuroda smirked.

Mei still pouting angrily, was surprised when she felt a hand pat down on her head. She turned around and looked up to see Kuroda staring down at her affectionately, his smile warmly washing over her. Even more unexpectedly, he suddenly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a gentle hug.

"Good bye Mei,"

Too stunned to even respond to her father's actions, Mei simply stood in his arms.

"What the hell," she suddenly growled, pushing him away her face quite flush, "what do you think I am, a little kid? I don't need you to say good bye to me."

"Of course,"

"I mean, I'm practically already grown up, I'm having periods and-"

"Okay, okay Mei," interrupted Kuroda, "I don't need details. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Fine, whatever," she muttered,

Kuroda shrugged his shoulder in amused abandon and turned towards the gate.

"You're a good father," said Yoruichi,

"Whatever,"

The gate lit up and a door of pure light appeared between the two columns.

"See you Rukia," called Ichigo,

"Good bye Ichigo," Rukia called back, "and thank you for everything."

The ryoka lined up to enter the gate.

"Oh, Kuroda," called Ukitake, Kuroda turned back to face him, "did you have fun while you were back in Soul Society?"

Kuroda furrowed his brows.

A long moment passed without any answer, and all eye were turned on to him.

Then, the most peculiar sound filled the air, laughter.

Kuroda was laughing, an event more stunning then any that had happened so far. This was not some small chuckle that he occasionally made form hearing sarcasm or some joke. This was pure laughter.

"Haha! Yeah Jushiro," chuckled Kuroda as he recovered from his unexpected burst, "lots of fun."

With that, the Ryoka began to enter the gate, one by one, until all of them, had disappeared.

(#) (#%&* )#(&*%) (#%&* ()#&*%)#( &*%) #&*%)( #&*%) #(&)

"You've got to be kidding me!" yelled Ichigo as the Dangai cleaner pursued the group from behind, "this is exactly like last time! Weren't they supposed to have fixed this problem?"

"Don't complain!" scolded Yoruichi, "just run!"

"I see the exit up ahead!" announced Uryu,

Sure enough, the exit was straight ahead. The group made one final sprint and dashed right through it, and into the air about 200 feet above Karakura town.

"Crap!" yelled Ichigo as he and his friends began to fall.

Kuroda and Yoruichi on the other hand remained airborne,

"Oh right, they can't fly," remembered Kuroda,

Luckily the group of humans was quickly rescued from a messy death by a mutual friend. A large towel suddenly wrapped around them, the bundle was quickly caught by Tessai and unfurled into a flying carpet, or flying sheet.

"Welcome back everyone!"

"Mr. Urahara?" asked Ichigo when he realized they'd just been rescued.

"Good to have you back Ichigo," replied Kisuke, "I assume you've learned why I really helped you?"

Ichigo stood up "Yeah"

Kisuke immediately spun around to face the teen, took off his hat and bowed his head low.

"I am, truly sorry," the exile apologize, "truly sorry."

Ichigo at first was silent, but finally said, "it's alright, I'm not mad or anything."

Kisuke kept his head bowed.

"Stop it already, you didn't do anything wrong," assured Ichigo, "whatever your reasons, you helped me and made me stronger and I appreciate that. So don't apologize."

"Thank you" said Kisuke, his head still bowed,

"But I would like to ask you one thing" said Ichigo, "did you not tell us the truth, because you thought it'd scare me away?"

Kisuke replaced his hat on to his head,

"exactly!" said Kisuke, regaining his silly demeanor,

SMACK!

"ow," groaned Kisuke,

"That just pisses me off," growled Ichigo,

"I knew you'd be mad, but I didn't think I'd get an elbow to the face," said Kisuke, holding his now damaged nose.

"Make sure you apologize to Rukia when you see her again," ordered Ichigo, "she's the one you really need to say sorry to."

"Sure thing,"

"Gotten everything sorted out?" asked Kuroda as he and Yoruichi drifted down onto the flying sheet.

"Whoa, Kuroda, you can fly?" asked Ichigo,

"Yeah, I'll teach it to you some time," Kuroda turned to Kisuke and gave him an acknowledging nod,

"How'd your return go?" asked his blonde friend,

"Fine," replied Kuroda, "met a few old friends, had a couple near death experiences, and a mental break down."

"Hm, not as bad as the last time we were there," joked Kisuke,

After a few more minutes of flying, Uryu asked for Kisuke to lower their transport so that he might get off.

"See you later Uryu!" called Ichigo, "if anything happens, we'll be counting on you."

"What are you talking about?" asked Uryu, as though the teen had said something completely idiotic, "have you forgotten? You are a shinigami, I am a Quincy. The next time we meet, we'll be enemies."

Before Ichigo could respond, Uryu jumped off the flying sheet.

"Jeez, what a pain," muttered Ichigo when they'd begun to gain altitude again.

They then went on to drop off Orihime and Chad at their respective houses.

Orihime gave a great big goodbye and smile as she left and Chad predictably was quiet but offered a warm wave.

"Alright, next stop is your house Ichigo," announced Kisuke,

"Sure that'd be great…actually, I think I'll get off right here," decided Ichigo,

"Huh? Wait!"

"Thanks for the ride!" called the Substitute before jumping off,

"Ichigo!"

"Let him go," said Kuroda, "he just needs a bit of time to himself."

Kisuke let out a chuckle, "sounds a bit like you."

"Like me huh? I certainly hope not," Kuroda replied with a mild amount of worry,

Yoruichi sighed, attracting both of their attentions

"What's wrong Yoruichi?" asked Kisuke,

"Oh, just thinking," she answered, her voice heavy, "it's been quite a journey, hasn't it?"

"Sure has," replied the shop owner, "especially with Kuroda around,"

"Hey," protested Kuroda,

"We love you," assured Kisuke,

Yoruichi laughed at their banter, "the three of us together again huh? What are we going to do now?"

"That's a good question," Kisuke said heavily, "it feels like we won, but this only happened after we suffered a big loss. I guess in the end, all we've done is get things back to normal."

"So now, it's anyone's game?" offered Kuroda,

"Precisely" replied Kisuke, "we're going to have to start preparing with both our old and new allies. I'm afraid that this fight is just beginning."

"Heh, I wasn't finished with it anyway," remarked Kuroda,

"I've got a bad feeling that none of us are going to die peacefully in our beds from old age," Yoruichi said as though it were a matter of fact.

"Probably not," replied Kisuke, "but I suppose that really can't be helped for people with like us."

"I don't know what you two are talking about," piped in Kuroda, "I know I'm going to hell, but you two better die of old age, I'll make sure it happens."

"Heh, that could take some work Kuroda. We're still quite young, we still have many years ahead of us," Kisuke pointed out,

"Never was one to take the easy route," Kuroda said,

"But, at least we're all together now. Let's enjoy that while we can"

**End**

**A/N**

**Whoo! Chapter 30! Yay!**

**Alright, so we're finally out of Soul Society and we'll be starting on the Arrancar arc! I'm going to warn all of you right now, this is where my right as a writer takes over. You will notice some changes to the story line, for instance, Ichigo will not have his ass kicked by Grimmjow. I think I'll just leave that topic there.**

**On another note, I now have over 100 reviews! Yay, big achievement!**

**It may take a bit for the next chapter to come up. I'm going to switch over to my other story for some time and I need to make sure I have everything laid out.**

**Also my mom is still being a total bitch, has me doing some real stupid things. But don't worry about that.**

**OC Submissions are still open, remember, I need Arrancars, fraccion.**

**Other than that, have a nice day.**

**Please subscribe, review, favorite, and share!**

**Bye Bye!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Okay, very exciting, we get to start on the Arrancar arc, yay! Gonna kill some hollows! But before I go any further, I'd like to just make sure that everything is understood from the last chapter. So, in case you couldn't figure it out, because of Yoruichi confronting Kuroda with his past which he had pushed into the back of his head, he suffered a mental break down that resulted in him trying unsuccessfully to commit suicide. Also, note Kuroda told Yoruichi that he "liked" her, he did not say love, that comes later. So Yoruichi does not yet know that Kuroda has romantic feelings for her, she just knows that he does in fact like her. Sorry if that disappoints some of you, but don't worry, that part will come along eventually. Now read!**

Chapter 31

Boot Camp

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! WHACK!

"I should really get a different alarm clock,"

Kuroda sluggishly pulled himself out of the warm comfortable covers of his bed to start his day. With a loud yawn he quickly glanced at his clock to check the time,

"7:00" he muttered, he made a mental note to perhaps push the alarm back an hour or so, he was technically still on break so there was no real need to wake up early.

With a shrug, he made his way to the bathroom so that he may be presentable for the rest of the day. As he opened the door, he was greeted with a curious sight.

"hey, can't a girl get some privacy when she wants a bath?"

"Oh, sorry," he muttered sleepily and shut the door, "I'll just go make breakfast then."

As he took a few steps away from the bathroom door, the wires in Kuroda's head began to connect.

"Wait a second!" he realized, then rushed back to the bathroom and flung the door open, "what the heck are you doing here?"

"Are you always this rude in the morning?" asked Yoruichi,

Kuroda was so bewildered by the dark skinned woman's unexplained presence in his apartment that he didn't even stop to consider that she was currently without clothing and lounging around in a bath tub.

"Rude? Me?" he asked mockingly, "what are you doing here? When did you get into my apartment? I thought you were staying with Kisuke!"

"Could you let me enjoy my bath first?" she asked nonchalantly, "I'd like to unwind a little before answering your questions,"

Kuroda's eyes finally saw the current state that Yoruichi was in and made him quickly shut the door. With a red blush on his face, he stomped down the stairs to go make breakfast.

"Why does this keep happening to me?"

As he silently made breakfast he also wondered, "who takes a bath in the morning?"

Just as he finished preparing the morning meal, Yoruichi came down wearing only a pink bathrobe.

"Mm, something smells good," she piped as she sat herself at the table, Kuroda set a plate of food down in front of her. The woman licked her lips and grabbed a fork to start, but as she tried to start, Kuroda suddenly jerked the plate away.

Yoruichi let out a small chuckle and looked up at her friend with a sly smile.

"Something wrong?"

"What are you doing in my apartment?" he asked sternly,

"What, I'm not welcome?" she teased,

"You are always welcome here, but I thought you were staying with Kisuke,"

"Well, you thought wrong," she replied pulling her breakfast plate back in front of her. She speared a piece of fish and put it in her mouth before. "you've got a nicer place and better food, so I decided to shack up with you."

"Don't say it like that," Kuroda said chidingly, then taking a seat across from her. He took a piece of fish from his own plate before saying, "just ask me next time, no need to sneak in."

"By the way," he continued, "where'd you get that bath robe?"

"From you,"

"Huh?"

"I found some loose cash in your wallet then used it to buy it," she explained innocently,

Kuroda raised an annoyed eyebrow, "you took money from my wallet then used it to buy a pink bathrobe?"

"Yup," she replied,

Kuroda sighed, just when he thought he could catch a break.

( #%* )#*(%&)( #&*%)(#&*%)#( *%&)#( &%*) #&%)# &%)( #*&%) (#&()#%*(& )

Ichigo, unlike his older friend, was having a relatively uneventful morning.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MOOOORRRRNNNIIING ICHIGOOOOOOO!"

SMACK! Ichigo's attacker, also known as his father, was interrupted by a retaliatory kick to the face. Before the elderly Kurosaki could recover, Ichigo grabbed the man in a headlock and kept him down on the floor.

"Damn you old man! Can't you lay off your stupid antics for just one day?"

"Well done Ichigo," his father managed to push out, "I may have nothing left to teach you."

"Oh just leave me alone!" demanded Ichigo before punting his father in the behind and sending him rocketing out his window. There was the sound of the man landing and a yelp of pain.

"I'll get you tomorrow!" swore Isshin,

"Stupid old man," muttered Ichigo,

It had only been a week since coming back from Soul Society and already he was getting back into the swing of his everyday life. He'd expected Kuroda to begin training him as soon as they got back, but the veteran Shinigami had told him to take a break first, saying that considering what they'd been through, he deserved it.

Since then, Ichigo had spent most of his days just hanging around doing relatively normal stuff, or as normal as he could be, spending time with friends, finishing some of his summer school work, and taking care of the occasional hollow.

Ichigo went to his dresser and began to dress for the day. Putting on a purple t-shirt with the words "nice vibe" printed on the front, and a pair of plain blue jeans. There, he was ready for the day.

"Hey, where do you think you're going!" piped his room's resident annoying stuffed toy.

"Shut up Kon," was all he said,

"Where's Rukia!" demanded the toy,

"I already told you, she's still at Soul Society," he growled,

"You promised to save her you idiot! But now, who's bosom am I supposed to find comfort in now?" cried the toy,

"I don't care, just stay here and be quiet," ordered Ichigo as he exited his room,

"Oh yeah, well, you can't stop me from leaving!" declared the toy, who then flung himself at the window so that it might finally escape. Unfortunately, all he succeeded in doing was bouncing off the barrier of glass and falling back down onto the bed.

"Good morning Ichigo," greeted Yuzu, Ichigo's bright young sister,

"Morning Yuzu," Ichigo greeted back, as he sat down at the breakfast table, "Hey Karin,"

"Morning Ichigo," said the darker of his two sisters, "have you been working out? I noticed you've gotten a bit beefier lately."

"Oh, yeah I have," said Ichigo, "so what about you two? I noticed they really piled up the homework this year, finish it all yet?"

"Yup," said Yuzu, "got it finished in hardly any time at all."

"By the way," said Karin, "this was left at the door last night, it says it's for you."

His sister handed him a plain white envelope with the words: Ichigo Kurosaki, written on the back. His curiosity piqued, Ichigo cut it open and took out a small white piece of paper. A few words were written,

_Come to Kisuke's as soon as possible_

"Must be from Kuroda," Ichigo said aloud,

"Kuroda?" asked Karin,

"Yeah, one of my friends," explained Ichigo, "apparently he wants me to meet him today."

"Wait, wait," interrupted Karin, "what's his last name?"

"Uh…Ryou,"

"Kuroda Ryou? The, Kuroda Ryou?"

"Is he special or something?" asked Ichigo,

"Ichigo, don't you know anything?" scolded Karin, out of now where she pulled out a magazine and shoved it into his face, "Kuroda Ryou is one of the youngest and richest guys in all of Japan!"

Ichigo took the magazine from his sister and found that, much to his surprise, the magazine had a picture of Kuroda on the front.

"That's Kuroda alright,"

"They guy hasn't made an appearance in a while," continued Karin, "no one's seen him at all for like 2 years!"

"Seriously? I had no idea he was so important!"

"What's an important guy like him doing talking to a nobody like you?"

"Ow," muttered Ichigo, "uh…not sure, but I better go see him soon."

"Eat you breakfast first," ordered Yuzu, "then you can go and play with your friends."

"Hey, when you meet him, can you ask him to loan me a couple of buck?" asked Karin devilishly,

"I'll think about it"

( #(*%& #()*%&*() #&*%) #&*%) #(*&%)(#%&*) #&*%) #)#%*& )

"My beautiful work!" cried Kisuke as he examined the broken armband, "why? Why? WHY?"

The shop owner's voice somehow echoed throughout the building as he held up his arms in a sort of pleading way.

"Stop being so dramatic," muttered Kuroda who was currently hooked up to a bunch of strange looking machines. "just fix it so I can get on with my day."

"You're no fun," pouted Kisuke, "and before I can fix it, I need to see what the damage is."

The shop owner moved to the machines, all of which displayed a variety of charts, numbers, and stats that Kuroda could probably never understand.

"hmm," Kisuke mumbled, "uh huh…I see…oh my…hmm…alright…yes, I see."

"Is this going to take any longer?" Kuroda asked impatiently,

"Patience my friend," replied Kisuke, "your condition is a rare and delicate one, it takes time for me to consider all of the factors and to find out how best to proceed."

Kuroda sighed in defeat and slumped his head on the table he was currently laying down on.

"Tell me," said Kisuke, "how was your trip to Soul Society,"

"Violent, bloody, life threatening," replied Kuroda,

"Uh huh, and how was your time with Yoruichi?" asked the scientist as he continued to monitor his friends condition, the man found a strange sense of pleasure in seeing Kuroda's heart rate spike for a single second.

"What about it?"

"Did you two make up?" he asked, "I notice she's been a bit more happy ever since you two got back."

"I made peace with her," assured Kuroda,

"Did you do…more?" Kisuke asked slyly,

"No,"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes,"

"I think you're lying,"

"I'm not,"

"Come on," pleaded Kisuke, "tell me what happened, I want to know!"

"I had a mental breakdown in front of her," offered Kuroda,

"Oh…okay," said Kisuke, "anything else?"

"She found out the truth about my father,"

"Oh," Kisuke said, surprised, "and…how did that go?"

"How do you think I got to the mental break down?" remarked Kuroda

"Ah, that makes sense. So, what happened after the mental break down?"

"I tried to commit suicide by throwing myself off the Soukyoku hill,"

"I see, wait, a fall from that height wouldn't kill you!"

"Yeah, I'm pretty bad at trying to kill myself," he admitted,

"Well, what happened after that?"

"I woke up, Yoruichi took me back to my barracks, my mother patched me up," he surmised,

There were a few moments of silence, where Kisuke seemed to be satisfied with the explanation, but added in, "you need to work on your story telling skills."

"Screw you," muttered Kuroda, "just fix me up already,"

"Alright, alright, I'm getting to it," said Kisuke as he continued to work, "so, what happened after you got patched up?"

"Let it go already," groaned Kuroda, "if you're so interested, why not ask Yoruichi? I'm sure she'd be happy to tell you."

"Yeah, but she's staying at your place now, isn't she?"

"She'll come to see you eventually, just ask her, I don't want to talk about it,"

"Fine, fine," Kisuke said, deciding to let the subject drop. After a few more minutes of silent tinkering, Kisuke finally revealed a newly created seal for his friend. "Alright, now to fix you back up."

"About time," mumbled Kuroda. He pushed himself up into sitting position, then exposed his bicep, revealing the other two seals.

"Time for treatment," Kisuke announced, the scientist carefully tying the band under the other two seals. At first, nothing seemed to be out of place, the band fit perfectly around Kuroda's arm and when the lock clicked together, there was a noticeable drop in his power.

A few second passed and nothing out of the ordinary happened.

"Hmm, that went better than I expected, "remarked Kisuke,

As if laughing at their attempt to suppress Kuroda's power, the seal suddenly exploded off Kuroda's arm, followed by a powerful shockwave that sent Kisuke crashing into a wall and the machinery into sparks.

"Ow," moaned Kisuke,

"Kisuke!" Kuroda rushed off the table and to his friend's side.

"Let's not do that again," said Kisuke as Kuroda pulled him up.

"Are you alright?"

"Eh, a few scratches and bruises," replied Kisuke, "but I'll heal, my equipment however…"

The two turned to the machines, who unlike Kisuke, were not in very good condition. Many had their screens smashed in or were just flat out broken.

"I'll pay for that," assured Kuroda, "but what happened?"

"I was afraid of this," said the shop owner as he leaned against the table that Kuroda had been sitting on a few seconds ago.

"Kuroda, I'm sorry to tell you this, but I don't think I can fix you anymore,"

"What? Why not?"

"I'm real sorry," Kisuke repeated,

"I don't want a sorry, I want an explanation," demanded Kuroda,

Kisuke looked up at him despairingly, then repeated, "I'm sorry."

"Just tell me what the problem is,"

"It seems that, you've had that seal off for too long," Kisuke started, "you see, my seals are really like retainers, for people's teeth. Only instead of teeth, I use them to help you. But a retainer can't do much if the teeth are completely out of place, that's what's essentially happened to you. You've had your retainer off for so long, the seal can't help you any longer."

Kuroda sighed heavily, "you've got to be kidding me."

"I wish I was," replied Kisuke "Still, I can't help but wonder…"

"About what?" asked Kuroda

"The fact that you've had the seal off for too long is certainly the problem," said Kisuke, "but, from what I saw, you're 'teeth' are misaligned much more than they should be. In fact, even with the amount of time that you've had the seal off, the margin of misalignment that stops me from creating a new seal and replacing it on your arm should be very little, yet I've found major amounts of misalignment."

"So, there's more damage than there should be?" surmised Kuroda,

"Precisely" replied Kisuke, "do you have any idea what might have caused it?"

"Well, there was my mental break down, and I also-"

"Hello?"

"Hmm, who's that?" asked Kisuke,

"Hello? Anyone here? Kuroda?"

"Oh, that must be Ichigo," said Kuroda,

"Ichigo?"

"Yeah, I called him over so we could start training. The kid's pretty strong, but he's got a long way to go before he's at the level that we need him to be," explained Kuroda, "I guess we'll have to continue this later."

"Looks like it, I'll go prepare the training grounds," said Kisuke, picking up his hat and dusting it off, "try not to kill him, okay?"

Kuroda snorted, "no promises."

( #()%* &#)(*%& #()*%&)( #*&%) (#*&%)(*#&%) (#&*%) #&%)& #)(*%&)

"Kuroda?" called Ichigo, "I'm here!"

"Quite yelling!" growled Kuroda as he opened the door,

"Kuroda, there you are, where is everyone?" asked Ichigo,

"If you're talking about Jinta and Ururu, then they're taking a nap, which is why you should be quiet," answered Kuroda,

"Oh, sorry, my bad," Ichigo quickly apologized,

"It's alright," said Kuroda, "I assume you got the letter then,"

"Yeah, I guess we're going to start training," As he followed the man inside.

"That's correct," said Kuroda, when they arrived at the trap door leading to the underground training grounds, Kuroda suggested that Ichigo leave his body up in the shop.

"Just use your badge,"

"Oh, right," said Ichigo, taking the badge out from his pocket. The teen stared at it for a few seconds before asking, "how do I use this thing?"

"Just press it against your chest and it'll eject you out from your body," Kuroda pressed a fist against his own chest as an example. Ichigo copied the motion and was suddenly pulled out from his body and put into spirit form.

"Whoa! That's gonna take some getting used to," said Ichigo,

"Hurry up!" called Kuroda who was already moving down the ladder,

"Ah! Wait,"

When they reached the bottom of the ladder, the two of them found Kisuke finishing up any preparations.

"Hello there Ichigo, surprised to see me again so soon?"

"Not really, this is your place isn't it?" Ichigo stated in a deadpan tone,

"Well, when you put it like that-"

"Kisuke" interrupted Kuroda, "kind of need to train him,"

"Oh right, well have fun you two," said Kisuke as he began to climb back up the ladder, "I'm gonna go fix my room."

When Kisuke was finally out of the room, Ichigo asked, "what's he talking about?"

"Nothing important," Kuroda answered cryptically,

"What is it with you and all these stupid mys-"

A quick glimmer of steel and the sudden shuffle of Kuroda's feet was all the warning Ichigo had. On pure instinct he grabbed Zangetsu off of his back and brought it out in front of him. A heavy blow crashed against his zanpaktou, so heavy that he immediately found himself on one knee.

"You blocked it," observed Kuroda as he pressed the teen, "good, but any slower and you'd have lost your head."

"What the hell! Haven't you ever heard of a warn-" Ichigo suddenly had a knee rammed right into his chin, cutting off his complaint and knocking him to the ground.

"A real enemy wouldn't have given you a warning," Kuroda pointed out, his voice calm and even, "don't wait for someone to tell you that they're going to attack, always assume that they'll attack the moment they see you. That, is lesson 1."

Ichigo pushed himself up from the ground and spat out a globe of blood, "damn it,"

"Are you ready now?" asked Kuroda,

Ichigo's only response was to raise his sword.

"Good,"

Kuroda exploded into action. The gap between him and Ichigo was closed in a fraction of a second, Kuroda slashed at Ichigo by bringing AnShen from his hip and up diagonally across his chest. Ichigo quickly blocked the incoming attack then retaliated with his own overhead strike.

Kuroda easily stopped the teen's attack, feeling a glimmer of surprise but not willing to let up, Ichigo continued to hammer away at Kuroda's seemingly unbreakable defense. Hack after hack, slash after slash, Kuroda pushed them all away with ease.

Ichigo was soon forced to relent,

"You certainly have strength," complimented Kuroda, "but you fight as though you wield a club instead of a sword."

"Shut up," growled a breathless Ichigo,

"I'm serious, what do you hope to achieve by simply smashing away at your opponent's defenses? That might work with some, but with a skilled opponent, they could easily find a way to counter," lectured the veteran, "don't just hammer away, attack from all angles, so that your opponent can't find a pattern."

Kuroda dashed towards his student and performed an overhead chop similar to Ichigo, and like Kuroda Ichigo managed to block the attack, albeit with some difficulty. Kuroda pulled AnShen back to attack again, but instead of simply repeating a chop, he swung his sword to the right and aimed for Ichigo's shoulder, the teen was forced to twist himself so that he could bring Zangetsu to parry.

Kuroda let AnShen rebound off Zangetsu, circling the zanpaktou around his head to strike Ichigo's opposite shoulder. Ichigo parried that attack as well. Again Kuroda allowed AnShen to rebound, this time as he pulled his sword back in, Kuroda reversed his grip on AnShen, then thrust his zanpaktou hilt first right into Ichigo's stomach.

The teen let out a strangled yelp of pain as AnShen's hilt dug deep, the force carried through and sent him flying back a good 10 feet away. Recovering quickly, Ichigo stumbled back to his feet, only to be met with Kuroda's zanpaktou coming right at his face.

Using the broad side of his massive zanpaktou, Ichigo clumsily blocked the stab.

As the teen moved his zanpaktou out of the way, he saw Kuroda moving in for another stab. Hastily, Ichigo moved his zanpaktou back into position. But Kuroda was not planning to thrust his sword out again, no, instead he jumped at Ichigo and lashed out with both of his feet.

A double kick connected with Ichigo's Zangetsu, the force carried through and shoved the substitute through the dirt, causing him to smash into one of the many large boulders scattered around the area.

Not wanting to stay on the defensive forever, Ichigo quickly pushed himself back up and sighted Kuroda sprinting towards him.

"Not this time," he whispered, Ichigo raised Zangetsu into the air and began to pour his reiatsu into the blade.

"**Getsuga"**

Kuroda's eyes widened,

"**Tensho!"**

A massive wave of white energy cut through the ground with blinding speed, right towards Kuroda. A powerful gust of wind followed after, tossing up bits of loose ground and rock. When the light finally died down, Ichigo partially feared that he'd be confronted with Kuroda's mangled corpse.

"Very impressive,"

This time, Ichigo's eyes widened.

"That's quite the attack you have there," complimented Kuroda,

Ichigo was absolutely speechless, from what he could see, the veteran had simply stepped to the side when the attack had come and let it pass him by.

"How did, you do that?" Ichigo asked shakily,

"I moved my legs," replied Kuroda, "now, where were we?"

( #()% #()*%&)( #*&%)( #*&%)# (*&%) #*&%)#&*(%) #&*%) %&)#)

Another explosion from below sent they tiniest waves through the shop above. Just enough to make a pen fall down from a table, knock a candy bar from the shelf, create ripples in a cup of tea, or wake up a pair of sleepy kids.

"What the heck is with the miniature earthquakes!" screamed Jinta,

"Jinta, is training Ichigo, you shouldn't complain," Ururu said timidly,

"What was that?" growled Jinta, "I ought to go down there right now and-"

"Jinta!" called Tessai, the red haired boy immediately froze with fear, "where are you? I let you sleep in, but that doesn't mean you don't have to do chores!"

'maybe if I'm quiet, he won't find me,' Jinta thought hopefully. Unfortunately no such luck, Tessai came bursting through the doors just as Jinta finished his thoughts.

"There you are!"

"AAAAAAHHH!"

Jinta went rocketing through the hallways, Tessai close behind.

"My, it sure is noisy around here," commented Yoruichi in her human form,

"Tell me about it," replied Urahara as he set a cup of tea out in front of her, "but, I think I'd best get used to it, it'll probably become a daily thing now."

"Do you think Ichigo will survive?" asked Yoruichi,

"Heh, maybe, what do you think?"

"He's got a lot riding on that boy," said Yoruichi, "he'll probably only break a few bones."

"hmm, speaking of Kuroda, I'd like to ask you something,"

"What?"

"Did something happen between you two in Soul Society?" asked Kisuke curiously, "Kuroda told me the important stuff, but I feel like he left out a few details. For instance the reason of why you seem a bit more chipper."

To the surprise of both, Yoruichi blushed a little. "Well, I guess going through such traumatic experiences together can do that to a girl."

"Maybe, or maybe it was what happened after the traumatic experience," hinted Kisuke,

"Well," started Yoruichi, "he did say he likes me,"

Kisuke nearly gagged on his tea, "seriously? He never says that to anyone! Ever! Not even me!"

"I'm pretty sure that's a given," Yoruichi remarked,

"Awww," pouted Kisuke, then perked up, "but hey, I'm glad you two made up."

"It was a bit rough," she admitted, "but yeah, we made up. He's finally forgiven me."

"And it only took, what? One month?"

"Heh, yeah,"

A few seconds of silence passed as the two simply listened to the sound of combat beneath them. It was finally broken, when Yoruichi asked, "Kisuke, what exactly are those seals for?"

"Hm?"

"The seals that Kuroda wears, I know that they restrict his power, but, I just know that they are there for some other reason,"

Kisuke was at first silent, hesitant on whether to speak or not.

"How much, do you know already?" he asked, to try and help his decision.

"I know that when he takes off his seals, he becomes like a completely different person. I haven't seen it first hand, but I can feel it from far away. His very presence seems to change entirely, like he transforms," she started, "I know he's afraid of what they hide."

"Then, Kuroda released more than his first seal when at Soul Society?" asked Kisuke,

"Yes, his second one,"

Kisuke sighed, "I suppose I should have seen that coming."

"I also think it has something to do with what happened with his father,"

Kisuke was silent again.

"Please Kisuke, what happened with Kuroda? What has he been hiding from me for so long?"

Kisuke took a small sip of tea from his cup, "I suppose you would have found out eventually anyway, and since he let you in on his big secret, you deserve to know the rest."

(# (*%#&()# &*%()&* )#*(%& )#(*&%()&*)%& )#*(&%*) #*(%&)&)#%(&)

"AH!" Ichigo was sent barreling into another boulder, the young warrior struggled to get back on his feet but found that his limbs simply wouldn't respond.

"Come on Ichigo, we've only been at it for an hour," chided Kuroda, "get up and fight."

"Damn it," cursed Ichigo as he finally managed to stand up. In a flash of Shunpo, Ichigo placed himself behind Kuroda.

"**Getsuga Ten-"**

Kuroda interrupted the attack with a swift kick to Ichigo's stomach, sending the boy tumbling through the dirt in pain.

"Damn," cursed Ichigo, smashing his fist into the dirt,

"What happened?" asked Kuroda, now standing in front of the boy,

"You're too fast," admitted Ichigo, "I just can't keep up."

Kuroda stretched out a hand, Ichigo was hesitant at first but accepted the help to stand back up.

"You are skilled," said Kuroda, "that much is evident, if you were part of the Gotei 13, you would undoubtedly hold a high seat, most likely lieutenant. In addition, your power grows at an almost ridiculously fast rate. But that, is as much a problem as it is a blessing,"

"What do you mean? I thought fast growth was good,"

"It is good," assured Kuroda, "but the problem is that you grow so fast you don't take time to truly understand your powers. You know how they work and what they do, but not how best to apply them."

"Apply them? Like what?"

"Take your **Getsuga Tensho** for an example," suggested Kuroda, "it has great destructive capabilities, but only if you can hit your target. If it misses, then it's just a big waste of energy. Moreover, you have quite a few signs that show you're going to use it."

"Like what?"

"You're usually far away for starters, and when you're far away, you raise your sword as if to strike. Obviously you're not going to hit anyone from far away, so it's easy to deduce that you'll use Getsuga Tensho."

Now that Kuroda mentioned it, Ichigo realized he did go through those exact motions every time he used Getsuga Tensho.

"Then, what do you suggest?"

Kuroda raised his own zanpaktou, "My AnShen, has some abilities that are similar to your Zangetsu's. I mostly use them for ranged attacks, like yourself, but I also use them for close quarters."

"How?" asked Ichigo,

Kuroda's response, was to attack.

"Gah, stop doing that!" cried Ichigo as he held off the veteran's blade,

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," assured Kuroda, the man then broke off his attack and jumped a few feet back.

Ichigo took up the offensive and charged his opponent, swinging from the right horizontally. Kuroda met the attack with a swing of his own, the two zanpaktou slammed into each other, creating the hair splitting sound of metal grinding against metal.

When the two blades slipped free of each other, Kuroda brought AnShen up above his head and executed a two handed chop aimed at Ichigo's head. The substitute similarly brought Zangetsu around and above his head to parry the incoming strike.

"Right there," declared Kuroda when their blades met, "I could have performed one of my attacks, and you'd be finished."

With his overhead attack having failed, Kuroda quickly shuffled his feet, so that he literally swung around Ichigo. Ichigo similarly moved his own feet so that he swung around to face Kuroda.

Kuroda followed up with a horizontal slash which was promptly blocked by Ichigo.

"There, I could have unleashed another attack," he declared, "and you'd be dust."

Kuroda then began to launch a flurry of attacks, causing Ichigo to nearly lose his footing as he desperately backed up to save himself.

"My attacks are limited to up down, left right," Kuroda explained as he continued his assault, "but your Getsuga Tensho, is only limited to how you swing your sword, use that to your advantage."

Kuroda slashed at Ichigo's shoulder, Ichigo parried and riposted with a thrust. Kuroda sidestepped the attack, then bragged Zangetsu's hilt right above Ichigo's hand and swung AnShen to decapitate the boy.

Ichigo quickly ducked, while at the same time tearing Zangetsu from Kuroda's grasp, then bringing it up for his own overhead chop.

"**Getsuga Tensho!"**

Kuroda's eyes widened, as Ichigo's Zangetsu slammed down on AnShen.

A bright wave of energy engulfed the veteran shinigami, tearing a massive fissure into the ground and causing a powerful gust of wind to circle through the area.

When the light finally died down, Ichigo's eyes widened.

"Good, you learn quickly," said Kuroda, he calmly shoved Zangetsu away, stood up, and turned to examine the aftermath of the attack.

"Impressive," he complimented, "if I hadn't blocked when I did, I probably would have lost a good chunk of myself. But, that's beside the point, good job Ichigo."

( #(%&() #*&%)( #*&)(*#%&) #(*&% )#*%&) #&*(%)(%&*) #%&*) #(%&*)

"I've kept a log of Kuroda ever since his break downs started," explained Kisuke, holding out a small black booklet, "it's helped me understand the process, piece thing together, connect the dots."

Yoruichi took the black booklet and began to skim over the pages. There were notes on Kuroda's behavior, abnormal activities, changes in his condition, etc.

"Before I continue, you must understand Yoruichi, Kuroda is not like you or me,"

Yoruichi allowed herself a chuckle, "that much is apparent."

"It's not just in the way you're thinking," said Kisuke, "perhaps this was all made possible because of where he was born and what he did as a child, I have theorized that it was his early bloodshed that led him to find his zanpaktou."

"AnShen"

"Yes, AnShen, a peculiar one among its kind," said Kisuke, "to take portions of the souls belonging to the ones it kills. But remember, a shinigami and a zanpaktou are one in the same, they are a part of each other no matter how dissimilar they might be. In essence, Kuroda also absorbs portions of the souls belonging to those he kills."

Yoruichi swallowed as she digested the information, "is that why he's like what he's like?"

"No, perhaps it is what set him up for it, but I don't think that's how he got this way. He was fine for many years, no, I think killing his father is what really set him over the edge. Remember when we first became shinigami?"

Yoruichi smiled, "Yes, I do. He was always the first to try to do the right thing, no matter what consequences might have been. Always follow a strict set of morals, always the good guy."

Kisuke also smiled, "yeah, he was. Imagine, how he must have felt each day, knowing that he derived power from killing, from death. You know, he once told me…"

"_Just because my Zanpaktou is some evil spirit, doesn't mean I'm going to become evil."_

"But as time went on, I think he began to believe that less and less. I don't know everything that he did while in Black Ops, but I do know a few, and they aren't pretty."

"So, his father's death…"

"Mm, killing his father, probably pushed him over to believe he really was evil. Then, following that, he probably subconsciously began to try and kill himself, so that he could rid the world of an evil as powerful as him."

(#(% *&%() *#&% #*()%&)* #&%)( #*&%)(* #&%) #%)#%&)#* (&%)

Steel smashed against steel as the two shinigami continued their fight.

Ichigo roared as he swung Zangetsu over his head, Kuroda quickly stopped the attack with little trouble. The substitute quickly pulled his zanpaktou back, spun himself a full 360 degrees and swept Zangetsu at Kuroda's legs. Kuroda jumped up to avoid the attack, the shot his feet right back down, trapping the massive blade on the ground.

With impressive strength, Ichigo lifted Zangetsu back up with Kuroda still on it. The veteran quickly jumped off the blade in an impressive back flip. Ichigo immediately charged his adversary, Kuroda charged as well. The substitute shinigami swung his oversized zanpaktou in a sweeping horizontal slice,

"**Getsuga Tensho!"**

Kuroda saw the energy build up behind Ichigo's attack. As Zangetsu came out, Kuroda jumped into the air and tucked himself into a ball, flipping over Ichigo as that devastating attack of his cut through air under him.

Kuroda landed unharmed behind Ichigo and quickly struck out at the teen's unprotected back side, but Ichigo managed to swing around just in time to block his attack.

Ichigo retaliated with a quick swipe that knocked AnShen out of the way, leaving Kuroda open for a follow up thrust. Kuroda gracefully twisted out of the way while sticking AnShen out so that he was like a razor sharp fan.

Ichigo had no time to react, the chilling feel of cold steel rested against his neck. His met with Kuroda's, a tingling sensation crawled up his spine, the man's eyes were absolutely unreadable.

Without warning, Kuroda suddenly grabbed a handful of Ichigo's uniform and tossed him like a doll right over his shoulder.

Fortunately for Ichigo, he didn't hit anything except the ground a couple of times.

"You're too stationary," he heard as he pushed himself up, "standing around in one spot like that only lets the enemy expose your flank. Move your feet, they were given to you for a reason."

Ichigo gave a grim nod to his mentor, then raised Zangetsu. Oddly enough, Kuroda did not raise AnShen.

"Do a back flip."

"Huh?" Ichigo asked in a confused tone,

"Do a back flip," repeated Kuroda,

"Uh...okay," said Ichigo, the teen performed the acrobatic maneuver with little difficulty.

"Good, now twist while you do it,"

"What is this? Gymnastics?" Ichigo asked, clearly annoyed,

"If I say yes will you do the damn maneuver?"

"Alright alright," said Ichigo, "yeesh,"

Ichigo performed the instructed maneuver with no problems as well.

"What was the point of that?" he asked as soon as he was done,

"Do you remember what I just used?"

Ichigo thought back, and remembered that Kuroda had indeed frequently used such maneuvers to catch him off guard. In fact the first time Kuroda had done such a thing, Ichigo had been too surprised to do anything.

"Fighting is only good for practice," explained Kuroda, "before now we were only practicing integrating your Getsuga Tensho into close quarters combat, now I want you to try and be more mobile."

Ichigo nodded determinedly, "Got it,"

(# (%* #()*&%)*(#%&)*(#&%)( *#&%)( #*&%()*#&% )%&#) #&)

"I see, but, that doesn't explain the seals," Yoruichi pointed out,

"No, I suppose it doesn't," said Kisuke, "let's see, how do I tell this story?"

The shop owner took another sip of his tea, only to find all of it was already gone. The man sighed, he really didn't want to talk about this. It was like talking about his failure to save Shinji and the others, only Kuroda never really recovered from his failure.

"A bit of time after the death of Kuroda's father," started the shop owner, "there was an incident. Kaito and Rajin didn't know what had happened, only that something had happened. They never asked Kuroda, so they had no reason to believe that Kuroda would do something out of the ordinary."

"I can't blame them, Kuroda is like a big brother to the two of them, I can only imagine the shock they suffered when they learned he'd tried to kill himself. Anyway, they came to me, to try to see if I could do anything. I offered to use my camera system to keep an eye on Kuroda, make sure he didn't do anything. Unfortunately, on that same day, Kuroda had his first break down."

"What happened?"

"I wasn't there so I'm not quite sure myself. But Kuroda's head began to hurt, like some horrible headache. A 4th division member came by and tried to help him out, poor kid, probably didn't even know he was dying till he hit the floor. When Kaito and Rajin showed up, Kuroda was just staring at the body, whispering to himself. They tried to bring him in but, Kuroda just started attacking."

"I saw from my cameras, his eyes. He was different, he liked the blood, the death. Thankfully, in his unstable state, Kaito and Rajin managed to subdue him. Cleaning up the body wasn't too difficult, apparently those two have experience with doing so. Anyway, Kuroda was out for the rest of the day. When he woke up, he seemed fine. He claimed that he didn't remember anything about killing the man from the 4th division. 2 days later, there was another incident. This time, he stayed blood thirsty the entire day."

"The day after, he returned to normal. But I asked him to remain in my lab for a bit, so that I could run a few tests on his condition. It was a bit hard, but I eventually found the problem. Kuroda, was developing split identities."

"Split identities? You mean, like one is happy all the time and another is sad?"

"In essence, but, I feel like these new pieces of him weren't really new personas altogether, but more of an ugly off shoot."

"What do you mean?"

"The Kuroda we know still remains, yes he is a bit…darker, but he's still there. These other personalities, they seem to be more like manifestations of other parts of him. The one that I saw, seemed to be a manifestation of his blood lust. It's possible that without killing his father, these manifestations would have come to surface eventually, but killing his father was definitely what shattered him. It just couldn't bear the stress of so much conflict."

"Now, the only way to keep himself sane, is to cut off the power that drives him mad. Those seals, they cut off the power that he shares with the others, and in turn cutting them off from influencing him."

"How many of them are there?" asked Yoruichi,

Kisuke let out a long drawn out breath of air, "There used to 4 at one point, then two of them were swallowed up by the other 2."

"Swallowed?"

"That's what he told me," explained Kisuke, "in any case, it seems that the time for him to confront his demons approaches, just as it approaches for many of us."

( #()% #(*&% ()#*&%)(#*&% )(%&*) #(&%) #(&%)( #*%&)#*&% #&)

The day began to come to a close for Kuroda and Ichigo. The two of them had been training nonstop for hours upon hours without rest.

Ichigo bore the most wear on his body, the hems of his shihakusho were tattered, many bruises and cuts dirtied his skin, and Zangetsu hung limply in his tired hands. The teen also panted heavily, with each breath his entire body rose up then fell back down when he released it. Unfortunately, Ichigo felt similar to how he looked. Not once throughout the entire session had he been able to lay a single scuff, a single cut, even a single glance upon Kuroda. All he had done was blunt Zangetsu against AnShen.

"That's enough for today," announced Kuroda, sheathing AnShen.

"No, wait," protested Ichigo "a little longer, I can still go on a little longer."

"No you can't," Kuroda said sternly, "you're 5 seconds away from passing out, the day is over."

Ichigo scowled as he let Zangetsu fall from his grasp, "I couldn't do anything."

Kuroda walked over to his student and picked up the oversized weapon, after looking it over briefly he held it out to Ichigo. "Don't let your zanpaktou slip from your grasp Ichigo, it is not just a tool, it is part of you."

"I know," Ichigo said wearily, taking Zangetsu back.

"And don't worry, you performed better then I hoped today," assured Kuroda,

"But I couldn't even-"

"It's only the first day Ichigo," cut in Kuroda, "you are a fast learner Ichigo and your power grows at an exponential rate. But there is a difference between fast and instant. You can't expect yourself to become more powerful over the span of half a day. The important thing is that you improved, whether you were able to injure me or not is irrelevant."

Ichigo noticeably perked up at Kuroda's assurance.

"Come back same time tomorrow, then you can try to kill me again,"

With that settled, the two of them ascended back up the ladder and into Urahara's shop. As the two walked in the hallways, Kuroda noticed Yoruichi talking with Kisuke. A small pang of jealousy echoed in his heart.

"See you tomorrow," said Ichigo when they reached the store front,

"Mm, get some rest kid, I won't go easy on you tomorrow," Kuroda called back,

When Ichigo was finally out of sight, Kuroda sat himself down on the store's front porch and tried to enjoy the cool air and starry night.

"Rough day?"

Kuroda turned to see Yoruichi standing behind him, "not really"

The woman sat herself down by his side, "didn't break any of his bones did you?"

"No,"

"Really? You must be getting soft,"

"Or he's just really tough"

Yoruichi chuckled. After a few moments of silence, Kuroda asked "So, how was your day?"

"It was fine," she replied, "a bit boring, but I had some interesting conversations with Kisuke."

"I'm sure," he said standing up, "well, I suppose we should go home now."

It took a few moments for Yoruichi to pick out, "we?"

"You're staying at my apartment aren't you, so yes, we"

Yoruichi chuckled again, "can't wait to see me in the bath again can you?"

"Don't take a bath, it uses up all the hot water," Kuroda complained as they began walking,

"Fine, I won't take a bath if you make a good dinner tonight,"

"You're staying at my place, shouldn't I get to decide what the rules are?"

"But I'm you're guest, you have to cater to my needs,"

"Heh, I guess I do,"

**End**

**A/N**

**There you go, sort of a short chapter but I didn't really want to drag it out like I did with the last one. I'm going to try to pace future chapters a bit better, for this one I just wanted to get the concept of the training down and to put all the pieces of the puzzle together with Kuroda's condition.**

**I promise the next chapter will be much more exciting.**

**So yeah, that's it really.**

**Please review, favorite, subscribe, etc**

**Bye Bye!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach! For I am not the all-seeing Kubo!**

Chapter 32

The Vizard and the Arrancar

Ichigo yawned loudly as he walked through the halls of Karakura High School. Things seemed very normal despite what had happened over the summer, it was almost hard for Ichigo to take up his regular routine again.

The lectures, the homework, the tests, and all the studying, it all seemed so dull compared to what he'd been through. Even training with Kuroda had been something more exciting than the monotony of his pre-shinigami life. Though looking at the training Kuroda had put him through, perhaps he should be thankful for the break that school gave him; the man's methods were absolutely brutal.

Brutal, but at the same time, Ichigo couldn't deny the results. It was amazing how much stronger he'd managed to get within the span of three weeks just from the daily grinds that Kuroda made him go through. In that time, Ichigo had learned how to better use his Getsuga Tensho technique, improved his swordsmanship skills, and even trained in hakuda.

Yes, school, despite its importance, seemed a bit insignificant compared to it all.

"I~ch~goooooo-"

WHAM!

"Morning Keigo," greeted Ichigo as he walked away from Keigo's crumpled form.

"Hey Ichigo,"

"Hey Mizuiro"

"Long time no see, Ichigo" Keigo wheezed from the ground, of course, Ichigo was already in class.

"Good Morning Ichigo!" called Orihime,

"Unh," Chad greeted with a small wave,

"There's an invention called a comb that's new in stores, you should really try it," said Uryu,

Ichigo shrugged off the Quincy's remark as he set his bag down, but as he walked over to join the group he replied,

"When did I ask you for help with my hair?"

The moment he joined his fellow spiritual peers, Keigo walked in through the door and screamed.

"AAAAHHH! What? What? What the hell is this?" he cried, "Chad? Orihime? Uryu? I thought it was weird that at the start of summer vacation for you four to hang around each other. But now you're all stuck together like glue! I demand to know why that is! What happened between the four of you? Come on tell me! Let me in! I wanna join! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!"

"Chill out, nothing happened," Ichigo said in a deadpan and obviously annoyed voice,

Keigo immediately stopped, but not out of satisfaction.

"Why? It's like I'm nothing more than an ugly puppy that no one want's to pet!"

"That sounds about right 'puppy' so why don't you go stand somewhere else," growled Ichigo,

A look of pure devastation placed itself on Keigo's face.

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around Orihime and pushed themselves up so that the girl's already impressive bust was accentuated.

"Good Morning my princess!" squealed Chizuru, "I missed you so much over the break, especially your wonderful large-"

SMACK! Chizuru went flying across the room.

"It was worth it," groaned the girl,

"Jeez," said Tatsuki, "even when it isn't spring, you're still in heat Chizuru."

"Morning Tatsuki" greeted Ichigo,

"Morning Ichigo," the girl replied, "how was your break?"

"Mm, can't complain"

"Hey, what's that?"

Ichigo blinked before following Tatsuki's eyes down to the charm his father had forcefully sown into his school uniform.

"This? Just a joke from my dad,"

"Not that, I already figured that one out. I mean that thing with the skull on it."

"Oh! This, this is a…uh…I bought it at a store and-"

Realization dawned on Ichigo and he froze,

"Wait, Tatsuki, you can see it?"

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow, "Of course I can see it dummy,"

Before Ichigo could try to cover for himself and figure out how Tatsuki, a normal human, could see the badge, Ms. Ochi came into class flinging the door open.

"Morning class! Everyone sit down so we can get started!"

Ichigo was all too happy to comply.

"Aright," started Ms. Ochi, "is everyone here today?"

"Ooshima and Sorimachi are absent," she noted, "but that's okay since they're just a couple of idiots,"

As she continued to scan the room, she realized, "Oh my, Kuroda isn't here."

Ichigo whipped around and found that the man really wasn't here.

"That's strange, Kuroda is always here on time," said Ms. Ochi, "maybe he's just-"

"Excuse me,"

The entire class turned to the door, and there Kuroda stood. But no wearing his usual school uniform, but a black suit, with a white dress shirt underneath, and a dark red tie.

"Uh...Kuroda? Why aren't you in your uniform?" asked Ms. Ochi,

"Good morning Ms. Ochi," greeted Kuroda, "I just came to inform you personally that I won't be attending your class any longer."

"Eh?" cried the teacher,

"I apologize for the deception," he continued, then pulled out a small card from his pocket, "but this is who I really am."

The teacher took it and found it to be an I.D card.

_Kuroda Ryou_

_Age: 25_

_Height: 6'1_

_Weight: 179 lbs._

_Hair: Black_

_Eyes: Red_

_Occupation: CEO of Ryou Hotels and Apartments_

was of course, completely confused.

"I…I don't understand,"

"I just attended for a while because I wanted to see if the school was good enough for my adopted daughter," he explained calmly, "I must say, I'm glad that you'll be her teacher."

"O-oh, thank you,"

"Sir," said a voice, another man, dressed similarly to Kuroda, except for a black instead of red tie appeared behind him. Ichigo recognized the man to be Kaito.

'What's he doing here?'

"I'll be out shortly," assured Kuroda, he then took out a small check book from his pocket, a pen from his breast pocket and wrote something down. He then tore out the page and handed it to the still bewildered teacher.

"This should hopefully compensate for your services," he said, "good bye."

"Uh…good bye,"

And with that, Kuroda was gone, leaving the entire class stunned and confused. Ms. Ochi soon manage to recover a little and took a small glance at the check Kuroda had left her.

"EH!"

The teacher suddenly fell to the floor, frozen solid.

"Ms. Ochi?"

Keigo stood up and looked over to check up on the woman and found that she was still breathing. He then took a look at the check himself, and fell to the ground.

"Keigo? Are you okay?" asked Mizuiro,

"T-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t"

"What?"

"t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t"

"What? How much was on the check?"

"T-t-t-t-t-ten million yen*!" he screamed,

_*Ten million yen is roughly the same as $100,000, so it's not like he made her super rich_

"Seriously? Can he back up that kind of money?" asked someone,

"Look there's a limo outside!"

The entire class rushed to the windows. Sure enough, Kuroda was being escorted by Kaito to the large, very expensive looking limo. The man got in, and the limo drove away.

"I've been the friend of a multi-millionaire," Keigo wheezed from the ground, "and I didn't even know it"

"I don't know if he would have called you friend," Ichigo remarked,

Suddenly, Ichigo's badge began to scream, "Hollow! Hollow!"

It startled the teen, but he immediately knew what it meant.

"Uh, ? May I go to the bathroom?" he asked quietly,

"Sure," she said dazedly,

"Ms. Ochi, may Chad and I go too?" asked Orihime,

"Sure, do whatever you want," said happily, "only one of you will matter anymore from now on."

"Where are they all going?" Tatsuki asked allowed, she turned back to the window to continue looking at the limo, but found that it was already out of sight. She was about to go back to her seat, when she saw the strangest thing.

She saw Ichigo, and he was wearing black robes.

( #*(%&) #(*%& ()#%&) #*(%& )#(*%&) (%&) #(%&)

"Did you really have to go through all that trouble?" asked Rajin, who was driving the limo in the front, "it would have been easier to just erase you from their memories."

"I suppose, but it's too late now," replied Kuroda from the spacious back, "besides, I owe Ms. Ochi, since she really will be teaching Mei."

"I thought it was actually kind of fun," remarked Kaito who sat shotgun next to Rajin, "I should take Rangiku on a date here; she'd love that shopping mall place."

"If you can get clearance for her to come," Kuroda pointed out,

"No need, she's already coming over,"

Kuroda raised an eyebrow, "is she now"

"Yep,"

"The advance team has been chosen?"

"So far, we only know that Captain Hitsugaya of the 10th division will be leading the team," this time Rajin, "as well as his Lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, and of course, by the Captain Commander's suggestion, Mei Ryou. We still haven't heard who else."

"Good," Kuroda said, satisfied with the report, "I'll get you two some rooms at my apartment complex, can't have my division sleeping on the streets while they stay."

"How come you never gave us that offer?" asked a new voice,

"I wasn't rich back then," replied Kuroda, "and when I did offer, you all refused."

"Heh, I guess we did,"

"What did you think of him, Shinji? What did you think of Ichigo?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki," whispered Shinji Hirako, the man tugged lightly on the collar of his orange dress shirt, then straightened out his black tie, and fixed his grey newsboy cap, "he seems like a real interesting guy."

(# *&)(%*&*$%^&**&^*(&^*(%^(# %&*(# &%()*&%)( #*&%) #(*&%) #&*(%) #&%)

"_Don't you think it's dangerous, sticking together like this? If one of us loses it, and one of us __**will**__ lose it, it's almost certain that another will die as well, or at the very least have their progression halted forever!"_

"_Stop being such a whiny little weakling, if you can't even defend yourself, it's a wonder you're still alive,"_

"_I'm just trying to be sensible!"_

"_You don't need to be sensible. Tyran will protect us, he will lead us."_

"_Sure he's strong, but how will he stop us from-"_

"_By making sure we can all trust one another,"_

"_Tyran! I'm sorry, I didn't-"_

"_Don't you worry about a thing you two, I'll make sure that everyone in this group can be trusted. We'll be comrades, working alongside one another to survive."_

( #*%&)( #*&%)(# *&%)(#*%&) (#*&%) (*#&%) #(&*% )&)

Tyran woke with a start. The Arrancar blinked a few times to banish the sleep from his eyes, when he could see without hindrance Tyran opened them wide. The Cero Espada let out a loud yawn that he made no effort to stifle; he smacked his lips together a few times and took in his surroundings.

The Espada was in his bedroom, which was located in his palace. Tyran felt a small smile touch his lips, his palace, the Espada never got tired of saying that to himself.

Being the strongest Arrancar in Aizen's army had its perks. For instance, he got the biggest palace to live, the best food to eat, the softest beds to sleep.

A small groan at his side snapped him out of his thoughts, he turned and smiled.

And the hottest servants to bang. Note, servant(s), with an s.

Sleeping on his right pectoral was a cute little Arrancar named Yin, sleeping down on his abs was her twin sister, Yang. The two were almost completely identical except for a few things. For instance, Yang had short red hair while Yin had longer blue hair that parted which parted down her back in pigtails. Their hollow masks were likewise identical, acting as headbands which went down the middle of their hair before reaching their eyebrows.

They were also his fraccion; Aizen had given them just a few days ago. They weren't the strongest Arrancar around and they weren't the most beautiful, but they were good enough and pretty good in the sack.

When they'd initially come into his service, they were immediately respectful and obedient. They recognized that he was the top dog and that they were serving one of the most powerful persons in Hueco Mundo. As a result, they were willing to do anything for him, getting them to warm his bed had been all too easy, in fact, the two had been overjoyed.

After a bit of simply lying in bed, Tyran decided it was time to get up. Before he did, he gave Yin's ass one more light spank and Yang's breasts one more grope before reluctantly rising.

He immediately went to his dresser to his dresser, it wasn't that there was anyone to be decent with, Yin and Yang had already seen everything; he just didn't like walking around naked.

Before clothing himself he checked his mirror to make sure he was presentable. He quickly combed his hair with his fingers and made sure his well-toned body was cleaned of anything that might have gotten there from last night.

Next, he opened a drawer and took out his clothes.

His outfit consisted of the standard Arrancar coat, which he left zipped open just enough for the top of his pectorals to be exposed, but strayed from uniform due to his more modern style trousers. He really hated how puffy those standard pants were. On his waist he wore a black sash which held his zanpaktou, a katana with a deep purple handle, decorated with a line of red dots and a square hand guard.

He was just about to go order the servant at his resident servants to go fetch him and the girls some food, when one of them knocked on his door.

"Lord Tyran?"

With a sigh, he opened the door, "what is it?"

"Pardon the interruption my lord," said the servant, a skinny gaunt man with a thin mustache and slicked back black hair, whose eyes were kept fearfully to the ground, "Lord Aizen ordered me to inform you that there will be a meeting held in three hours."

"Fine, remind me half an hour before it happens," he ordered, "and get me some god damn food."

"Yes my lord, as you wish my lord,"

With that, Tyran slammed the door shut.

"What a pain," he muttered,

"My lord?"

Tyran turned to the bed to see that Yang had woken up, closely followed by her stirring sister.

"Awake huh?" walked to the foot of the bed,

Yang gave him a lustful smile and crawled her way on the bed towards him, Yin, who was awake now, crawled after her sister.

Yang wrapped her arms around the thigh of his right leg and nuzzled her head into his stomach while her sister grabbed one of his hands and held it to her face as though it were catnip and she was a cat.

"Did we please you last night my lord?" Yin asked sensuously,

"You did," he replied calmly despite the pleasurable attention,

"Can we please you every night my lord?" asked Yang,

"Of course you can, in fact I order you to do so,"

"Mmm, it will be our pleasure to do so," said Yin,

Tyran suddenly pulled away from the two girls, "take a bath before you touch me anymore."

The two Arrancar whined a little but quickly did as they were told, not bothering to cover their nudity. After a few minutes of simply standing by himself, he raised one of his arms and took a sniff,

"Hmm, I could probably use a bath as well," he mused,

And so he went towards his palace baths.

As he walked to the baths, he encountered another of his servant Arrancar, this one an older looking fellow with a grey mustache and matching goatee.

"My Lord, your meal is almost ready," the servant said, "Shall I bring it to your quarters?"

"No, bring it to the bath house, and make some for Yin and Yang as well," he ordered,

"As my lord commands,"

Tyran smiled to himself, never would he tire of hearing those words, never would he tire of having such command over others, whether it be because of pure power or of status, he would never tire of it.

The Cero Espada soon entered the bath house.

The entire room was full of steam, but he could see clearly enough to make out the contents of the room. It's entire space was taken up by two large rectangular pools.

The larger of the two pools contained cold water for either swimming or just cooling down.

The smaller of the pools was the one containing hot water, which was the cause of all the steam in the air and currently held Yin and Yang. He smiled as he lewdly studied their naked bodies, bodies which belonged to him.

"My lord," Yin said, noticing his presence, "Did you decide to join us?"

"Please come in," sang Yang, "I'll wash your back for you,"

Tyran smiled as he undressed, life was good. But why shouldn't it be, he was strong.

(# )(%&*)(# &*%#)(*%&)#(&*%) #&*%)( #*&%) #&%*)&*%) #*%&)%& ))

"Don't stay in there too long," called Tyran as he dressed,

"Don't worry Lord Tyran," replied Yin, who was still dazed from post orgasmic pleasure, "we'll be out soon,"

"That was amazing Lord Tyran," cooed Yang,

Tyran didn't reply, instead silently leaving the bath house and starting his way to the meeting chambers. As he made his way, Tyran ran into another member of the Espada, the Primera: Coyote Starrk.

"Starrk, surprise to see you up and about," joked Tyran,

The Primera yawned, "It couldn't be helped, if I don't attend the meeting, I'll probably get chewed out."

"Plus I kicked him till he got up," added another voice,

Tyran snorted as he saw the owner of the voice walk up, it was Starrk's only fraccion, Lilynette. Despite looking very much like an adolescent, Lilynette wore the most revealing clothes the Cero Espada had ever seen. Consisting of white briefs with an open vest that had a high collar; Tyran often wondered if her choice of style was due to feeling underdeveloped.

"How was your nap?" asked Tyran as the three of them walked together.

"It was fine, wish it had lasted longer," replied Starrk,

"You always wish it would last longer!" scolded Lilynette

"When are you going to fight me?" asked Tyran,

"Never," Starrk immediately replied,

"Why not?"

"We already know you're stronger than me, there'd be no point. Besides, I'm too tired to fight,"

"I don't care about who's stronger, I already know I'm stronger. I'm just bored, I haven't had anyone strong to fight in forever," groaned Tyran, "and I can't go destroying stuff for fun in the world of the living, cause Lord Aizen still won't let us."

"Maybe this meeting is about that," suggested Starrk, "we have a full rack of Espada now, maybe this meeting is about making our first move."

"I hope so"

Finally, the three of them reached the door to the meeting hall.

"Stay out here," Starkk ordered Lilynette,

"Yeah, yeah,"

Together the two high ranking Espada strolled into the meeting hall. Already the other nine Espada sat at the table, along with Aizen at the head, flanked by his two cronies, Ichimaru Gin and Kaname Tosen.

"Ah, the last two arrive," said Aizen, "please, sit down."

Starkk took his seat between Ulquiorra Cifer and Nnoitra Gilga, while Tyran took his spot at the opposite end of the table from Aizen.

"Before we start, let us have some tea," said Aizen

An unspoken groan radiated among the Espada, Kaname began pouring tea into the cups that had already been placed in front of the Espada.

When everyone had their tea, Aizen took a small sip.

"Let us begin then," said Aizen, "Kaname, turn on the projector."

The blind man pulled a lever and a small plate sized hole appeared in the center of the long table, which then began to emanate a green light.

"I have gathered you here today, my dear Espada, to announce, that we will finally begin our war against Soul Society."

A multitude of feelings went through the Espada, excitement, boredom, duty, reluctance. Tyran in particular, smiled widely.

"I have decided that our first move should be the reconnaissance of our objective, Karakura town."

A virtual display of Karakura Town appeared above the table.

"In particular, I would like there to be reconnaissance of a few particular residents of Karakura Town," continued Aizen, "the first being Ichigo Kurosaki"

A picture of a young male teen shinigami with orange hair appeared.

"That kid?" asked Grimmjow, "what the hell's so important about him?"

"Make no mistake, though he may appear young and unassuming, this boy along with several others, defied the Gotei 13. Kurosaki himself, fought against many high level shinigami and won," explained Aizen, "even more, Kurosaki seems to have the ability to increase his power exponentially in very short spans of time. In less than a week, he went from being just barely strong enough to fight a seated shinigami, to being able to fight on par with a Captain. We must exercise great caution when dealing with him."

"The second is Kuroda Ryou," a picture of Kuroda replaced that of Ichigo, "he is the current Commander of Seireitei's black operations division. This man is undoubtedly, one of our most dangerous enemies. He is a ruthless killer with a squad of powerful shinigami at his fingertips."

"Doesn't look so tough," piped Yammy,

"I assure you Yammy, Kuroda is quite dangerous. He is the one responsible for many deaths; he has no qualms on how to kill his enemy, even if it means sacrificing his own men."

"Is that fear Lord Aizen?" asked Tyran, many of the Espada gave the Cero alarmed looks.

Aizen smiled, "No Tyran, not fear, respect. I have no doubt, that if I faced Kuroda at this very moment, he could kill me."

All of the Espada were silent; to say that one killed kill Aizen was no small thing to say. Even some of them, the strongest Arrancar in all of Hueco Mundo, could be floored by the power. All were silent, all, but Tyran.

No, Tyran laughed, he laughed for joy.

"Hahahaha" he laughed madly, "hahaha, the more I hear about this Kuroda guy, the more I want to fight him, I can't wait to cross blades with this man. Kuroda Ryou."

Tyran continued to laugh, and all the Espada continued to stare.

"If any of you fight him before me, I'll tear out your god damn throat," he warned his colleagues,

No one spoke a word as Tyran continued to laugh to himself, for they all knew, Tyran could all too easily carry out his threat.

(#*%& ()#*%&() #&*%)#*%&)*&%) #(*%& )#(*%& )#(*%&() (#%&*)

The final bell rang in Karakura High School, meaning Ichigo Kurosaki's first day back to school had come to an end. It had been a relatively normal day, despite Kuroda's dropping from the class in a very disruptive way.

However, as Ichigo walked towards the main entrance, his mind began to wander to the Quincy, Ishida Uryu. Ichigo wasn't the greatest with sensing reiatsu, but he could tell that Uryu's remained abnormally low. He initially brushed it off as Uryu needing more rest, but even Chad and Orihime seemed worried. Back at Soul Society, Ichigo had been told that Uryu had fought one of the Captains. Had he tired himself out so much that it took more than a month to recover? Or was there something else being hidden, perhaps he might have exhausted all of his reiatsu and lost his powers? The idea weighted heavily upon him.

'He lost his powers, because he tried to help me'

Later that night, Ichigo left the house to hunt another hollow. He left Kon inside his body, in case one of his sisters or father came into his room. But as he thought about it, he might have been better off keeping Kon out of his body, there was no telling what the thing would do with it.

He had to admit though, his real body did sometimes feel a bit constrictive compared to shinigami form. There was something about being in shinigami form that gave him a sense of freedom, allowing him to jump across buildings and into the air, it just made him want to whoop for joy.

The substitute soon found the hollow, which was defeated with a single swing of Zangetsu.

"Wow, that was easy," Ichigo said to himself, a bit disappointed.

"HEY!"

Ichigo whipped around to see another shinigami, one he didn't recognize. This one was a man with a ridiculously large afro and large bushy eyebrows.

"You! Who the heck are you!" bellowed the shinigami, "and why are you dressed up as a shinigami?"

"Who are you?" asked Ichigo, a bit annoyed,

"Me?" asked the shinigami as though he were surprised, "I am Kurumadani Zennosuke! I'm a handpicked elite shinigami, here to replace Ms. Rukia Kuchiki who was arrested for some crime! Impressed?"

Ichigo sighed, he could already tell he wasn't going to get along with this guy.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Shinigami," he replied, then held out his badge, "this is my badge to prove it."

"What the hell is that?" said Zennosuke, "I've never even heard of a Substitute Shinigami, much less a badge for one."

Ichigo glared at his badge, "man, this thing is useless!"

The Substitute was so busy glaring at his badge and trying to tune out the afro shinigami's incessant rambling, that he almost didn't notice the new reiatsu signal right behind him.

On pure instinct, Ichigo spun on his heel and raised Zangetsu. Fortunately Zangetsu was raised just in time to stop a katana.

Holding the katana was a thin man with a jaw length blonde hair with a straight cut, wearing an orange dress shirt and a black tie. The two of them locked eyes, trying to size up the other.

After a few more moments of struggling, the two broke off and pivoted away.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Ichigo,

The blonde man just smiled

"Is that a zanpaktou?" asked Ichigo,

"You mean this?" the blonde man raised his katana, "are you talking about this? Ichigo Kurosaki?"

Ichigo's eyes widened, startled that the man somehow knew his name while Ichigo had never seen him before.

"I don't think I know you," said Ichigo, "so how do you know my name?"

"You know it was pretty easy to track you down," the man said, ignoring Ichigo's question, "especially with how much reiatsu you let leak out. It's a wonder they haven't already come."

"Who? Who hasn't found me?"

"You idiot, do I really need to spell it out for you?"

Though he did not know it, Ichigo's reiatsu had attracted multiple hollows, and now they were going after the people with the highest spiritual pressure.

"See," said the blonde man knowingly, "they're already here."

Ichigo suddenly lunged forward and slammed Zangetsu against the blonde man's sword. The resulting clash created a powerful shockwave which practically blew Kurumadani Zennosuke away like a stray leaf.

"I asked you who you were!" reminded Ichigo,

Shinji's eyes widened as he felt himself being pushed back, he had known Ichigo was strong but he hadn't expected this! In the corner of his eye he saw Ichigo's left foot beginning to edge in, undoubtedly to sweep his legs.

Before it could be performed, Shinji quickly jumped away.

"Alright, alright," he said holding up a steady hand, "I'll just show you."

Ichigo seemed to calm a bit but still kept Zangetsu up.

Shinji reached up to his forehead, then out of nowhere, small bits of white matter began to congregate at his hand. More and more built up until it began to quickly take shape, before long the white bits had created a magnificent white mask.

"I think you recognize this,"

Ichigo swallowed, he did, it was undoubtedly a hollow mask.

"I think you finally understand," said Shinji, "I have a zanpaktou"

He raised his katana,

"And a hollow mask"

He raised the mask,

"I'm a shinigami who's crossed over into the domain of the hollows, just like you. Now I've come to-"

WHACK!

"OW!" cried Shinji, he turned around to see his attacker, "Kuroda!"

"Kuroda?" asked Ichigo,

Indeed, the said man stood behind Shinji in his suit and tie, an annoyed look plastered on his face.

"I thought we agreed that you weren't going to do this," growled Kuroda,

"You don't have to hit me for it!" cried Shinji,

"Get in the car," ordered Kuroda, pointing at the limo below.

"Fine, yeesh," muttered Shinji,

Ichigo stood dumbstruck,

"You too Ichigo," said Kuroda

"Uh…"

"Don't worry, I'll explain everything," assured Kuroda,

The two then floated down to the ground and entered the limousine.

Shinji and Kuroda took a seat in the back, while Ichigo took the seat with it's back to the driver's cabinet.

"Drive," ordered Kuroda,

The limo started to move,

"Whoa, nice," complimented Ichigo, taking in the luxury of the car.

"I believe introductions are in order," Kuroda said, "Ichigo, meet Shinji Hirako"

"Nice to meet you, hope we can be friends,"

Ichigo glared back skeptically,

"How do you two know each other?"

"It's a long and complicated story," replied Kuroda, "but let's just say that me and Shinji have known each other for a very long time. I believe you already saw, but he has the powers of both shinigami and hollow"

"Yeah"

"I was supposed to introduce you to him tomorrow after school, but I he took things into his own hands it seems,"

"You can't blame me, if I went back without having even talked to the kid, I would've gotten slapped to death," defended Shinji,

"There are others like you?" asked Ichigo,

"Sure are,"

"Ichigo," started Kuroda, "the reason I wanted to introduce Shinji to you, is because I know of your…condition with your inner hollow."

Ichigo's eyes widened slightly, he hadn't thought that anyone would have noticed. Maybe Kisuke would have known but it didn't seem that likely since Ichigo had only lost control of his hollow once, and that had only been in front of Byakuya.

"How did you-"

"That's not important right now," cut off Kuroda, "what is important is what I brought Shinji for. I asked him to help you control your hollow and hopefully use it to your own benefit."

"Our group is called the Vizard," said Shinji, "we are your kin Ichigo, you belong with us, not Soul Society. The moment they learn of your hollow, they'll cast you out."

For a long moment, Ichigo simply glared and Shinji.

"No thanks,"

"Huh?"

"I appreciate the offer, but I refuse," replied Ichigo, "I don't want anything to do with that bastard of a hollow inside of me and I have no interest in this group you belong to. I'm a shinigami, and I'll stay that way."

"Then you're an idiot," stated Shinji, "you think you can just run from your-"

"Shinji," interrupted Kuroda, "this is your stop."

The blonde man took a glance outside the nodded to Kuroda, "Thanks for the ride."

He then exited the limo and walked away. The vehicle began to move again, leaving the blonde man alone.

"I suppose I should have expected as much," sighed Kuroda, "But you know, Shinji isn't one to give up so easily, just because you say no, doesn't mean he won't try again."

"I figured as much," replied Ichigo, "listen Kuroda, I appreciate you trying to help me out with my hollow thing. But I've got it under control."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I just have to be strong. My hollow only came out because I was on the brink of defeat, I just have to win my fights and I can already do that better because of your training," said Ichigo, "trust me, that hollow isn't coming out any time soon."

Kuroda kept an emotionless face, "you have no idea what sort of danger you are in," he wanted to say, but he didn't.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely," Ichigo replied immediately, "like I said before, I don't want anything to do with that bastard. The less I'm reminded of him, the better."

Kuroda sighed, "I wish I shared your certainty Ichigo, but I suppose this is something you'll just have to learn by yourself."

Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows, what did he mean by that?

"We're here,"

Ichigo glanced out the window and saw that the limo had stopped directly in front of his house.

"Thanks Kuroda," said Ichigo, exiting from the vehicle,

"Stay safe kid," Kuroda called back, then whispered, "try not to die."

As soon as Ichigo was in his house again, the limo started back up and began to drive to its final destination. A few minutes into the drive, Kuroda heard a small bump from ceiling of the limo, like something had dropped down.

He pressed a button on his arm rest that opened the limo's skylight, almost immediately a familiar head of purple hair poked through.

"Come in," he said,

Yoruichi smiled and swung into the vehicle.

"Traveling in style now huh?"

"I like to take car rides," he replied, "makes me feel normal,"

"Uh huh, cruising down in million dollar car, very normal," she said sarcastically

"Do you want something to drink?" Kuroda asked, ignoring her last statement,

"Got milk?"

Kuroda reached over to the drink bar and grabbed a glass bottle of milk and handed it to Yoruichi. She graciously took the bottle, popped off the cap and began to drink.

She took a small pause to ask, "why didn't you just tell him?"

"It wouldn't have made a difference," answered Kuroda, "Ichigo is young and naïve, he wouldn't have accepted the help even if I had told him. This is something that he must experience firsthand."

"It could get him killed,"

"I know"

( #*%&) #(*&%)( #*&% )(#%&*() #&*%() #&*%)( #&*%() *#&%) (#*&% )#&*(%)

The next day of school went by without any interruptions for Ichigo. He went to class, listened to his friends talk, did his work, then came back home without another thought. The only thing that was different, was that Ms. Ochi had come in with a new car and some pretty expensive clothes, apparently the money Kuroda had given her was being well spent.

Truth be told, everything he'd done today seemed to blur into one large mass in the background. He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened last night, with Shinji and Kuroda. Ichigo had turned down the offer, but like Kuroda had said, he knew the Vizard would be back.

Then there was Kuroda himself who had tried to introduce the Vizard to Ichigo in the first place. Did Kuroda know something about the hollow inside of him that he did not? The look in the man's eyes last night, told Ichigo that Kuroda seemed to have some sort of experience with the subject. Then there was the way he'd spoken when Ichigo left; it made Ichigo wonder if he'd come to regret his decision later on. He hated that feeling, it made him feel like he didn't have a choice in the matter, but he'd meant what he'd said last night, he didn't want anything to do with his inner hollow.

And with the training that Kuroda had given him, he was quite confident that he'd never be weak enough that his hollow could take over again.

As he entered his room, he fell down on his bed, trying to wrestle with his thoughts. Unintentionally, his mind wandered to his fight with Byakuya and how he'd lost control over his hollow for the first time.

Ever since then, he could hear his hollow calling out to him. It had been mere whispers at first, but recently, he'd begun to hear the voice more clearly. That snarky arrogant perversion of his own voice, telling him that his time was coming, at the rate that it was increasing, he'd soon-

"_Soon what?"_

Ichigo's eyes sprung open, "You!"

"_Are you scared Ichigo? Well get used to it, because soon you're going to feel a lot more fear, more than you ever thought possible! I'm going to dig my way up towards you, and not just day by day, every minute, every second of your pathetic existence you'll feel me worming my way up."_

Ichigo felt a cold hand grip his heart,

"I'm not afraid of you," he lied

"_Ha! Or maybe I'll hold back a little, so that I can see you squirm! I never tire of seeing the fear in your eyes! But soon I will get through, then I'm going to swallow you up and no one will ever see you again. You think just because you got some training and became stronger that I'll stop? No Ichigo, no, you'll be seeing me around, real soon."_

And with one last chilling laugh, the voice was silent, leaving Ichigo in a cold sweat.

"What should I do?" he asked himself, "I can't go on like this."

Knock on his door jerked him from his thoughts.

"Ichigo, it's me, Karin, can I come in?"

"Uh, sure," he replied shakily, trying his best to at least pretend like everything was alright.

His younger sister entered the room, from the look on her face something was obviously bothering her.

"I wanna know what's going on with you," she started, "why have you been acting so strange?"

"What do you mean? There's nothing going on with me," he replied,

"Ichigo, I know," she said, "I know you're a, shinigami."

(( #*%& #*()%&)(#*&%)( %&)(#*&%) #&*%) #&*%)&

Else-where in Karakura town, a bright light suddenly appeared high in the sky. It then came crashing down in the middle of a public park, causing a great explosion and a massive throw up of dust. Citizens for miles could feel the shockwaves of the impact and many closer to the zone stopped to watch.

"What was that?"

"Was there a meteor?"

"Terrorists?"

"An explosion?"

Out from the dust, came two figures, one large and muscular, the other pale as the moon.

( #(&%(%&()*&) #%&*(&% #)*(&%*(& #%*()&# )*%&()

"A shinigami?" Ichigo smiled, "what's that? Some new thing going around that kids-"

"Don't play dumb with me!" she said sternly, Ichigo lost his smile.

"I can see the too, the spirits," she said, "at first I was confused, I didn't know what was going on. But then, I saw-"

Her explanation was interrupted when a hundred tons of pressure suddenly fell upon the two of them. Ichigo gasped, the only time he'd ever felt reiatsu as strong as this was when he was in Soul Society fighting Byakuya.

All across the town, people felt similar effects.

Ichigo immediately stood up, he needed his badge.

"Ichigo," Karin looked up pleadingly at her big brother,

"I'm sorry, I don't have time for this right now," he turned to the window and began fishing out his badge from under the covers of his bed when he felt a small hand grasp his wrist.

"Where are you going?" asked Karin, Ichigo turned back to face her, he looked into her eyes and saw fear. Not for herself, but for him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, then broke from her hold and placed his badge against his chest.

A second later, his body fell without him. Clad in his shinigami uniform, he jumped out the window to face this new unknown danger.

(#*(&*(^)*& #*()&%)(*&% #()*&%)(&*% #)(*%&)&# %)&%)

"I came here a few times while I was masked," remarked Yammy, "but damn, this place is still as boring as ever."

"Stop complaining Yammy," warned Ulquiorra, "I wasn't the one who made you come along, this is supposed to be a solo mission, you're the one who insisted."

"Yeah ,yeah," the tall Arrancar brushed off, making his way to the edge of their crater. There the Arrancar found a couple dozen of humans looking his way,

"Is it a meteor?"

"I don't see anything"

"Do you think it's dangerous for us to be so near?"

"What the hell are all of you staring at?" growled Yammy, "I hate it when people stare"

With a sharp intake of breath, he began to process of sucking out their souls. A few people let out groans of pain as he began the process, but they were all quickly silenced when their souls fled their bodies to come into his mouth.

By the truck loads, the gathered people began falling to the ground, dead for no evident reason.

"Bleh," spat Yammy, "what an awful taste, not even enough for a snack either."

"What did you expect, taking souls from such trash?"

"Well I only did it because they kept staring, like we were part of some freakshow!" Yammy shot back,

"You're an idiot Yammy, none of those people could even see you,"

"I know but they were still pissing me off!" growled Yammy, "how many of them are we supposed to kill anyway?"

"Only one, weren't you even paying attention in the meeting?"

"All these humans and we only get to kill one?"

"That's right, I've been informed that there are only 4 people in this town that can put up a fight anyway, the rest are just trash,"

As Ulquiorra scanned the bodies on the ground, he noticed one was still moving.

"Surprising," he observed, "a survivor"

Tatsuki, who had been on her way home when the "meteor" crashed down in the public park, was now lying belly down on the ground, weak as a newborn kitten.

"What the hell just happened?" she asked herself, mustering just enough strength to lift her head. Her eyes saw two men, both dressed in white. One was dark of skin and huge, the other was smaller and incredibly pale.

"Who are they?"

The large one came to a stop in front of her, his massive frame towering above her.

"My Gonzui didn't tear out your soul huh? You must have a bit of power then," observed Yammy, "Ulquiorra, is this the one?"

"Take a better look you idiot, her body is about to break simply by being near you, she's just trash."

"So she was just lucky huh?" Yammy raised a foot and brought it down.

Only for a new figure to step onto the field,

"Orihime, take care of Tatsuki" said Chad as he held off the large Arrancar's foot,

"Oh, more? This could be fun" smiled Yammy, "Uliquiorra, is this him?"

"No you idiot, both of them are just trash"

Chad drew back his modified right arm and threw it forth with as much power as he could muster. The resulting attack was one of the most powerful he'd ever thrown, trees swayed dangerously back and forth from the pure force of the attack.

Yet somehow, Chad was the one that ended up on the ground, his right arm torn apart.

"Chad!" Orihime quickly ran to the man's side, she called his name again and again but he didn't respond.

"Ulquiorra, is she trash too?"

"Yes you idiot,"

Yammy smiled and raised his arm to strike, it would be at least somewhat amusing to hear her head pop.

"**Santen Kesshun: I reject!"**

A bright orange triangle made of light suddenly appeared in front of the Orihime, somehow protecting her from the Arrancar's half hearted attack.

Yammy was puzzled, then the shield broke.

"What the hell was that?" he asked,

"**Souten Kisshun: I reject"**

The same bright orange light suddenly surrounded Chad's arm, in mere moments the injuries began to sew themselves back together, eventually his arm looked as though it had never been injured in the first place.

'A healing technique?' wondered Ulquiorra, 'no, something else. She is either reversing time or dimension. Whatever it is, it is something I've never seen before.'

"You are a curious human, woman,"

Orihime suddenly stretched out both her hands, Yammy crossed his arms, wanting to see what would happen.

"Tsubaki" she called, a bright orange fly seemed to burst from her hairclips.

"**Koten Zanshun: I reject!"**

The fly burst forth like a miniature missile headed straight for Yammy,

He caught it with one hand, then crushed it between his fingers like sand.

"What was that, some bug?" he asked rhetorically,

Orihime looked horrified,

"If that's it, I guess it's my turn. Uliquorra, should we take her back, she had some pretty interesting powers!"

"There's no need, kill her."

Yammy smiled and reached out his hand to crush her head like a fruit.

He would have too, if he hadn't suddenly been forced to stop.

The reason was soon clear, if he had gone any farther, he would have impaled his hand upon Ichigo's Zangetsu.

The orange haired substitute shinigami had finally arrived.

**End**

**A/N**

**Yeah, so, I hope you enjoyed that chapter. Not much action, I apologize, but there will definitely be some in the next one.**

**Also, I guess you noticed, I took this chapter as an opportunity to show off my Arrancar OC, Tyran a little. In addition I made his fraccion Yin and Yang, some of you will probably recognize them from the Bleach movie, Diamond Dust Rebellion. I liked them so I decided to integrate them into the story.**

**That's all I have to say now.**

**Also, lol, Kuroda is a rich boy! XD**

**Oh, second also, I've already started on the next chapter, so the update should be relatively quick, or at least quicker than this one.**

**Subscribe, favorite, review, and share please!**

**Bye Bye!**


	33. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach**

Chapter 33

Viral Escalation

"Who the hell are you?"

Ichigo glared dangerously at the large man towering above him, he wasn't quite sure what the "man" actually was but at the moment he didn't care. His training was kicking in and immediately he noticed three distinctive features about both of his opponents.

One, both had visible holes in their bodies, much like hollows.

Two, both had visible pieces of looked very much like parts of a hollow mask.

Three, both had katana on their waist, Ichigo wondered if perhaps those were zanpaktou.

"Didn't you hear me?" growled the large man, "I asked-"

"**Getsuga Tensho"**

Ichigo performed a halfhearted chop with Zangetsu and sent a medium sized save of focused reiatsu into the large man. It wasn't even close to what Ichigo usually mustered up, but it was sufficient to knock his enemy back, sending the behemoth a good 20ft across the park before coming to a stop.

"Ichigo," Orihime whispered, both in amazement of his power and his timely arrival.

"Orihime," Ichigo said, turning to face her, "I'm sorry that I'm late"

"No, I'm sorry," she said despairingly, looking at her fallen friends, "if I were just stronger…I could've…"

"Don't apologize Orihime," Ichigo cut in, "you did all you could,"

He turned to face the two unknown enemies, "Don't worry, I'll take these two down and then everything will be alright."

Suddenly the large man whom Ichigo had blown away a few minutes came up from the ground with an angry roar.

"You little punk" he growled, "I'm gonna split you in half! Ulquiorra is this the guy we're here for? "

"Yes," replied the pale man, "who would have thought that your reckless antics would have flushed him out so easily. He's definitely our target."

The large man smiled, "You saved me the trouble of finding you kid! Now you're gonna regret ever being born!"

With a reckless abandon, Yammy charged the orange haired teen with his fist raised back to strike hard. He reached Ichigo with surprising amounts of speed for a man his size, his fist shot forward with a giant mass of muscle powering its descent.

Ichigo calmly raised his oversized zanpaktou

The man's fist smashed against Zangetsu, and came to a complete halt. A powerful shockwave burst out from the colliding powers, but overall the only thing Yammy had accomplished was to make it easier for Ichigo to reach him.

"You aren't dead," said Ichigo, noting that Yammy had walked away from his previous attack with a bad burn down his broad chest but with no bleeding, "I guess I should have expected as much, it wasn't a full powered swing and you yourself seem pretty strong."

Ichigo guessed that this guy had to be at least as strong as a Lieutenant Shinigami, probably a bit stronger. Still, he was nothing compared to Byakuya and Ichigo had held his own against the Captain of the 6th division.

Yammy was clearly angered that his attacks were having no effect.

"You son of a-"

Ichigo was suddenly a blur of movement so fast only one pair of eyes besides his own had been able to catch what he'd done.

Regardless of what he and the other saw, the other two saw only a flash, and before they could blink Ichigo was already landing on the ground behind Yammy.

And Yammy was on his knees screaming with his right hand chopped off at the wrist and a bloody line down his back.

As his opponent behind him emptied their lungs, Ichigo unconsciously replayed his movements in his mind.

Yammy's fist had been out stretched, Ichigo took the opportunity of his enemy's moment of passiveness. In one fluid motion, he'd spun in a complete circled while moving a calculated distance forward, allowing him to slice Zangetsu through Yammy's wrist then jump over the large man while twisting his body, giving him the chance to cut a line down Yammy's back.

"You bastard!" roared Yammy, managing to pick himself up and swing out with his remaining hand. Ichigo easily dodged the clumsy attack then retaliated by slicing Zangetsu up so that Yammy now had a matching wound on his chest to match the one he had on his back.

Yammy stumbled back, still standing on his feet and even angrier than before, the large man panted heavily, "Damn brat!"

"Still standing?" asked Ichigo with Zangetsu casually resting on his shoulder, "you're as tough as you look"

"You seem to be having some trouble," observed Ulquiorra, "do you want me to fight him instead?"

"Shut up!" Yammy shot back, with his remaining hand he awkwardly grabbed the katana at his waist.

"Are you really going to use your zanpaktou? The boy hasn't even released his bankai yet," pointed out Ulquiorra,

"I told you to shut up!"

Ichigo's eyes widened, "did he say zanpaktou?"

'Then I was right,' he thought, 'a broken hollow mask, a hole in his chest, and a zanpaktou. Then there's his reiatsu, I've never felt anything like it before. Who are these guys? Are they related to Shinji…and me?'

Suddenly, Ichigo felt his entire body seize up.

"_Wanna let me out?"_

'Damn it, he was back!'

Yammy seemed to notice something was suddenly off with the boy as did Orihime and Ulquiorra.

"_I can kill them easily! Just let me take over, switch with me and I can do it in a heartbeat!"_

'Go Away! Get out of my head! Leave me alone!'

Yammy, like a predator sensing the weakness of its prey, took advantage of Ichigo's momentary weakness and deliver a strong kick to the boy's stomach.

The blow sent Ichigo stumbling back while the pain numbed his mind and prevented him from performing any retaliatory action.

"Ichigo" Orihime tried to run to his aid,

"Stay back" he cried out before being smashed in the back of the head and falling face first into the ground.

As tried to activate a shield to protect him, Yammy swung his hand out and back handed the girl. It was a light blow but it sent the frail girl tumbling to the ground, barely conscious and barely alive.

"Orihime!"

Yammy silenced him by viciously stopping on the boy's back, inhibiting him from running to the girl's aid.

'Damn it,' cursed Ichigo as Yammy continued to beat him, 'I can't move! Was all that training for nothing? I promised myself I wouldn't let myself lose again!'

In his mind, Ichigo thought he heard his hollow laugh mockingly.

'I got rid of you! I made it clear I didn't want you! But you're getting through anyway and stopping me from doing anything about it'

Yammy suddenly grabbed Ichigo by the back of his head and lifted up above the ground.

"I'm not sure what's going on, but he stopped moving for some reason," said Yammy

Ichigo gave one last glance at his, he couldn't even protect them.

Yammy tossed him into the ground.

"Time's up brat, now I'm gonna smash your head and show your friends what it looks like," Yammy lifted his fist and brought it down.

A powerful shockwave from his attack, threw up bucket loads of dust into the air. But even with it obscuring any view of Ichigo, one could see Yammy's confusion.

When the dust cleared, a blood red shield was revealed, preventing Yammy from finishing off the substitute shinigami.

"What the-"

"Hey there Ichigo," said a lax voice, "I'm sorry that we're late.

Ichigo looked up at his savior, Kisuke Urahara with Yoruichi and Kuroda standing at his sides.

Kuroda spared a glance back at Ichigo, "what happened you fool? You should have had no problems with this guy. He's way below you, so why are you on the ground all beaten up?"

Ichigo tried to respond, but found that he was simply too weak to form words.

"Who the hell are you three?" growled Yammy, "why do people keep popping up and getting my way, it's pissing me off! But if you stepped up, that must mean you want me to kill you first right?"

Yammy punched out with his fist again, but was surprisingly caught in mid swing by Yoruichi, the almost petite looking woman, effortlessly lifted the much larger man into the air and tossed him away.

"Kuroda," she said, "take care of your student, he's your responsibility,"

"Sure,"

Kisuke handed them both a small white pouch,

Just as the three began to move to their respective duties, Yammy suddenly burst out from the rubble, hand already balled into a fist to smash down on them.

The three disappeared, and Yammy hit nothing but the dirt beneath his shoes.

A small fist burst out from the resulting dust and caught Yammy in the side of his head, smacking the sense out of him and leaving him vulnerable. Yoruichi grabbed onto his large shoulder, gracefully hauled herself up and kicked the Arrancar in the back of his head. She then followed up with a dual handed fist the top of his head.

Yoruichi leapt off the Arrancar's back and let him fall limply to his knees. But she wasn't quite finished with him yet. No, she came down with a finishing drop kick to his back.

Yammy let out a strangled groan, then dropped to the ground.

Ulquiorra, simply watched.

Sure that the nuisance had been dealt with, Yoruichi moved to Orihime's side. She gently lifted the girl's head up and was relieved to find that Orihime was still alive.

"Yoru-Yoruichi," she stuttered weakly,

Yoruichi nodded,

"Is…Ichigo alright?"

Yoruichi looked up to see Kuroda tending to the substitute shinigami, Kuroda looked back and gave a confirming nod.

"He'll be fine," answered Yoruichi, she lifted a tiny white pill to Orihime's mouth, "swallow this."

The girl did so, albeit weakly.

Yoruichi then noticed a small twitch coming from the giant Arrancar she'd just felled.

"Still alive?" she asked,

Indeed Yammy was, he roared with anger as he rose from the dirt.

"I'm gonna kill all of you!" the Arrancar opened his mouth wide and Yoruichi felt his reiatsu suddenly build up.

A small red ball of light began to form in Yammy's mouth, it gradually began to gain in size till it was as large as a basketball.

"Cero!" she realized,

The ball of light turned into a powerful beam that lit up the sky with it's crimson presence. A dust storm practically engulfed the entire park.

"HAHAHA!" laughed Yammy "I got them!"

Yet much to his surprise, when the dust cleared enough for him to see, the two women were still very much alive.

The reason as to why, was the man with a clog hat and an out stretched zanpaktou.

"What? How are you alive? What did you do?"

"Oh, nothing much," replied Kisuke, "I just hit it with an attack of similar properties, the result simply negated your cero entirely."

A evidence, a giant fissure was now presently carved into the ground between the Arrancar and exiled shinigami.

"Why you-"

"You know," spoke a new voice, "I don't appreciate you firing such dangerous attacks at women."

Yammy almost jumped when he realized the voice came from the second man who had somehow moved right in front of him without Yammy noticing.

"So what are you gonna do about it shrimp!"

Quick as a cat, Kuroda jumped up to Yammy's height and thrust his hand forward, it happened so fast that Yammy had no chance to prevent Kuroda from suddenly grabbing his tounge.

"That waggling tongue of yours is real annoying," Kuroda said in a low dangerous voice, "maybe I should tear it out,"

Yammy's eyes grew wide in fear,

"But on second thought, I have a better idea,"

Yammy only felt pain for an instant.

After Kuroda made his move and jumped back to Kisuke's side, the Arrancar could barely scream. How could he, his entire lower jaw was missing.

Kuroda held it in his bloody hand by the teeth, he felt no disgust when looking upon it, only satisfaction. He even found a small amount of amusement when he saw that the Arrancar's tongue was still attached too.

"I think you better put him out of his suffering," commented Kuroda as he casually tossed the mouth piece back to the Arrancar's feet,

Kisuke nodded grimly,

"**Sing, Benihime!"**

Kisuke swung his sword and let loose a sharp wave of reiatsu at the stunned Arrancar. It threatened to slice Yammy right in half, but was abruptly prevented from doing so when Ulquiorra appeared in it's path and batted it away with a single hand.

All three were caught off guard by both the Arrancar's speed and ease at deflecting the attack.

The pale Arrancar picked up Yammy's blood jaw piece and handed it to him.

"We're leaving Yammy," informed Ulquiorra, "if we continue any longer, you'll soon die and I don't want to have to explain that to Lord Aizen."

The pale Arrancar touched the air, suddenly a giant tear formed out of nothing and opened to an incredibly dark pit.

"Running away?" taunted Yoruichi,

"Such taunts will not make me stay, something that I'm sure you'll appreciate" replied Ulquiorra, "if you three try to protect that trash while fighting me, I think you know what will happen. I've completed my mission, I'm going back to tell Lord Aizen that only one of the shinigami he had his eyes on is a true threat, the other, is just trash."

With that said, both Arrancar vanished into the void.

As soon as they were gone, the shinigami let out a collective breath.

"We better get these kids back to your shop for treatment," stated Kuroda,

"Agreed," said Kisuke, "Tessai!"

The large glasses wearing man walked out from the tree line with Jinta and Ururu in tow.

Kuroda moved to Ichigo, the orange haired teen looked up at him. Kuroda stared right back, now words were exchanged between the two of them, but Ichigo could feel what Kuroda wanted to say to him.

He could hear him saying, "I told you this would happen, I offered you help and you turned it away. Now you're paying the price for it."

Kuroda spared a glance to side, as if to add, "and so are your friends."

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At Kisuke's Shop

"Jinta, Ururu!" called Kisuke as he walked out of the rainy night and into the light of his shop, "I'm back and I bought some juice for you!"

The two children sat quietly at the front,

"How's Yoruichi?" asked Kisuke,

In response, they opened the door.

There Kisuke saw many large bowls of food filled to the brim of what they could carry to Yoruichi's right, to her left was an equally large stack of empty bowls.

And serving her the food was Kuroda who handed her a new bowl every few seconds after she'd finished scarfing down the preceding one.

Though, Kuroda didn't seem to be so bothered as to how much the woman could eat, than he was at the fact that she'd decided to eat in her underwear.

"There is something wrong with his world," he muttered as he handed Yoruichi another bowl of fried rice,

"More," she ordered,

Kuroda handed her a box of sushi, then some more fried rice, then a plate of steak, more fried rice, bowl of udon noodles, and so on.

Until finally, Yoruichi had had enough and took a gulp of her green tea, then let out a satisfied "Ah!"

"How can you eat so much, yet still look the way you do?" asked Kuroda in a deadpan manner,

"I get a lot of exercise," answered Yoruichi,

"It probably actually just all goes to your chest," he muttered,

"Bet your happy about that aren't you," remarked Yoruichi, Kuroda quickly clamped a hand on his mouth. Apparently she had better hearing than he'd been led to believe.

"It looks like your arm is feeling better," commented Kisuke as he took a seat at the table and gestured at her bandaged arm.

"Yeah, I guess," she replied, taking another drink from her tea, "my arm and leg aren't giving me any problems when handling everyday tasks at the very least,"

"And how about fighting?" asked Kisuke

Yoruichi was silent, the sighed, "it's my fault for not using Shunko, I knew that an Arrancar's skin could be protected with a strong layer of reiatsu, but I didn't think it would be this strong."

"Those two were much stronger than the ones we fought before," remarked Kuroda, "even that big dumb one was at least 50% stronger than Tokage."

"I felt that too," agreed Yoruichi, "their strong Kisuke, stronger than any of us could have predicted."

Kisuke let out a heavy sigh, "I guess that should be expected from the Hogyouku"

A moment of silence passed between the three friends,

Finally, Kuroda said, "I should probably start heading home,"

"Yeah, we should," said Yoruichi, putting some extra emphasis on the we,

"Put on some clothes first," he replied, "then I'll say we,"

They all shared a small chuckle at the joke, then Yoruichi left to gather her clothes.

"Opening up are we?" piped Kisuke,

"I don't what you're talking about," replied Kuroda,

"Don't be ashamed of it Kuroda, it's just natural," assured Kisuke, "and in these troubled times, we have to take what happiness is available to us."

"Those are wise words, but I'm still not sure what happiness you're referring to,"

Kisuke smiled, "of course,"

At that moment Yoruichi came out fully clothed, "I'm dressed now, let's go shall we."

Kuroda nodded, "see you later Kisuke,"

"Bye," waved Yoruichi,

"I'll be seeing you soon!" called the shop keeper,

As the two exited the shop, Kuroda suddenly began to feel just a bit nauseous. It almost felt like something had just pinched a small artery in his head and was now holding the blood back. His vision began to blur slightly, he pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

"_Ichigo isn't the only one with problems"_

Kuroda narrowed his eyes, it was starting.

"_I won't interfere with your fighting, but I will crawl my way through. The wall that you so pathetically built is starting to crack,"_

Kuroda ignored the voice and took a few steps forward towards the awaiting limo.

"_And if I don't get to you first, __**He**__ will!"_

Kuroda shut the door of his limo and felt the engine start up, as the nausea began to fade, his vision returned to him and he saw the buildings of the town moving passed him.

"Hey," Yoruichi shook his shoulder, "are you okay?"

"Yeah," he lied, "just a little tired."

(#(%)&) #(*%&)(#*%& ()#&%)( #*%&)( #&% )(#&*%) (#&%)&*%#) &%)

Five days passed without any new attacks from the Arrancar,

Though to be quite honest, Kuroda almost wished that there were a few attacks. The reason being, with nothing taking up his schedule, he was forced to something he really had no desire to do, take care of his business.

Most of the time, Kuroda would leave the company of one of the humans he trusted to do well. But with his return to the world of the living, and feeling a responsibility to look over the company he'd started, Kuroda somewhat pushed himself to get involved.

His work involved quite a few meetings, some transfers of employees, and a lot of reading.

Though he had to admit that others probably had it worse than him, due to his status he only really needed to work for half a day. Still, sometimes doing something useless was worse than doing nothing at all.

On the fifth day, Kuroda came back to his apartment after having just sat through two meetings on Hotel statistics and new locations to build apartments. He'd approved the building of a new complex in Tokyo and Kyoto seeing as those cities seemed to suffer from quite a bit of overcrowding.

Only time would tell if he'd made the right choice, not that it would really matter to him if the new buildings were a success or not.

He placed his brief case down and sat himself down on his couch and let out a sigh.

"I'd fight Kenpachi a hundred times if it meant I could get out of this," he muttered as he took off his tie,

"You work too hard," said a voice behind him, he turned his head to see Yoruichi coming down the stairs towards him,

"Where've you been?" he asked,

"At Kisuke's,"

"Oh," he suddenly regretted asking,

"He's trying to help me," she added,

"I'm sure he is," stated Kuroda as he unbuttoned his collar,

"He thinks he can make some gloves and boots that will protect me from when I'm fighting the Arrancar," she explained,

"You could just use shunko," Kuroda pointed out calmly,

"Shunko is a little too unstable to use for very long," Yoruichi said, leaning over the couch next to him,

"I suppose," resigned Kuroda, though he sound unconvinced.

Yoruichi stared at her friend, then smiled, "are you jealous?"

"Of what?"

"That I'm spending so much time with Kisuke?"

"What you do with your time is your concern," he replied unemotionally,

"Kuroda, if you want to spend time with me then you only need to ask," said Yoruichi, "personally I'd love to spend some more time with you."

"Really?"

Yoruichi nodded, "we've barely been able to after coming back from Soul Society."

"Well, I'm not sure," he said hesitantly as he pulled his briefcase up and opened it, then began sifting through papers, "I've got a few reports to read and I have figure out how best to coordinate with the team from Soul Society that's coming and-"

Kuroda suddenly felt a pair of soft warm arms wrap around his neck, he turned his head to see that Yoruichi was leaning into the nape of his neck.

"Please spend time with me?"

"…okay"

( #$*)%&#()*%&() %&)#(%&*()#%&*)#*(%& #)%&*)#%&* )#&*)

At Yoruichi's insistence, the two of them went out for lunch but didn't take the limo, deciding it would be a bit excessive.

So instead, they went walking down the street in search of a place to eat lunch.

Yoruichi had taken up her gigai which she had picked up two days ago while at Kisuke's, Kuroda wondered if the shop owner might have had a bit too much fun making that particular gigai.

The purple haired women was currently dressed in a dark leather coat with an orange tank top underneath and a pair of blue jean capris, along with some sandals.

Kuroda was currently dressed in a white casual dress shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

As they walked, Kuroda noticed that Yoruichi noticeably made an effort to keep the two of them very close together. It made him a bit…uncomfortable, but he didn't go against it.

"How about that place?" she suggested, pointing at a Western style restaurant, "it looks nice."

Kuroda nodded, "I've been there once or twice, its pretty good."

The two of them settled on that restaurant, it was mildly busy so they were served quite soon. Kuroda ordered a simple cheese burger with fries while Yoruichi ordered a plate of grilled chicken and a salad.

"I'm surprised you didn't order the fish," remarked Kuroda,

"Just because I can turn into a cat, doesn't mean I don't eat things besides fish," she replied,

"No, it's just your favorite food,"

"touché"

The two ate their meal, shared some amusing conversation, laughed at some old memories, many of which included Kuroda blushing, and overall enjoyed each other's company.

'It's been a long time, since it's been just the two of us' Kuroda thought to himself, he smiled as Yoruichi talked of another memory.

The two finished up their meal then paid the check, or rather Kuroda paid the check. He also gave their waiter a generous tip just because he was in a good mood.

As the two walked back towards Kuroda's apartment, Yoruichi suddenly stopped in front of a particular store.

Kuroda noticed it before walking ahead too far then came back to see what had caught her eye. When he reached her, he found that she had stopped in front of a jewelry store.

In particular she seemed to be paying attention to the necklaces they had on display.

"It's a good thing Keiji isn't here," commented Kuroda,

"No kidding," chuckled Yoruichi, "he'd probably have the whole store clean within the hour."

Kuroda smiled, "I didn't know you liked jewelry,"

"I usually don't," she admitted, "jewelry tends to get in the way when you're fighting, still, that doesn't mean I can't appreciate fine craftsmanship."

"Mmm"

"Ooh, look, ice cream!"

Kuroda turned to see an ice cream shop on the other side of the street.

"You want some?" he asked,

Yoruichi nodded,

Kuroda took her by the hand and led her over to the ice cream shop. A few minutes later, the two of them walked out with their own respective ice creams. Kuroda had gotten a large Styrofoam cup of mint ice cream, much to Yoruichi's surprise, Yoruichi herself had gotten two strawberry scoops on a vanilla cone.

"mmm, been a long time since I've had ice cream," said Yoruichi as they continued their walk back, she then gestured at Kuroda's large Styrofoam cup saying, "I see you haven't lost your sweet tooth."

Kuroda's response was simply to shrug and scoop another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.

"You wanna try some?" asked Yoruichi, offering out her cone to him,

Kuroda was hesitant at first but then gave her frozen treat a few small licks.

"Now let me try yours,"

Kuroda did not hesitate this time and held out a spoonful of his ice cream for her to try. She took the whole spoon in one mouthful.

"Not bad," she mused,

Kuroda scooped another spoonful of his ice cream and was about to stick it into his mouth when a sudden realization dawned upon him.

'Yoruichi just had her mouth on this spoon' he thought to himself, 'and if I use this spoon, it's like a…a…a"

He tried not to think of it that way, but he found that it was really hard to do so. Unforutunately he failed miserably and was unable to eat his ice cream for using the spoon felt too much like an direct form of a certain act of mouth to mouth.

Yeah, he's a bit pathetic.

"Are you gonna finish that?" asked Yoruichi, noticing that he wasn't eating it.

Kuroda shook his head,

"Can I have it?"

Kuroda immediately handed it to her, Yoruichi gave him an incredulous look but took the cup nonetheless.

"Are you sure-"

"Just take it"

"Okay…"

The rest of the walk back was in silence, save for the sound of Yoruichi putting ice cream in her mouth. They soon arrived back at the apartment, Yoruichi immediately flopped down on the couch.

Kuroda just stood still for a moment, unsure of what to do now that they were back.

"That was fun, don't you think?" asked Yoruichi, laying back a bit,

"Yeah," he replied shyly, mind still a bit on his earlier thoughts,

Yoruichi patted the couch cushion next to her, "come sit by me."

Kuroda did so, a bit nervously. Yoruichi grabbed the TV remote and flicked on the TV.

"We should do this again sometime," she said as she flipped through channels,

"Sure," he replied, "maybe tomorrow?"

"Definitely, I just have to go to Kisuke's, he's supposed to have a prototype of my armor ready tomorrow."

"Oh, okay,"

Though it was subtle, Yoruichi managed to catch the small spike of emotion in Kuroda's words. He sounded, sad perhaps, maybe jealous, or even a bit hurt. Yoruichi silently berated herself for her careless words, she could have said that there were a few things to take care of in the morning, or that she wanted to do it in the afternoon, anything but bring up she was spending time with another person.

Kisuke and Kuroda were the best of friends despite their banter, but Yoruichi knew that must have only made it worse. Kuroda wasn't the type of person to quarrel with a friend if what the friend was doing made them happy and was harmless. He didn't assert himself that way.

No, in truth, he'd probably let himself suffer if it meant the ones he was close to could be happy.

"I don't like him more than you,"

The statement caught Kuroda completely off guard so much that for the longest time he felt completely tongue tied.

When he finally worked up the nerve to respond, "I-"

A knock on the door cut him off,

Kuroda opened it to see Rajin and Kaito standing in the hallway, Rajin looked thoroughly annoyed while Kaito looked as giddy as a school boy.

Rajin took note of Yoruichi on the couch and asked, "did we…interrupt something?"

"No," replied Kuroda, "in fact remind me to give you both a raise. What did you need?"

Rajin nodded, "they've arrived,"

Kuroda nodded back, "get the limo started,"

"Yes sir,"

Kuroda was about to follow after, then remembered Yoruichi was still on the couch waiting for him. He turned back to her and said, "I'm sorry, we're going to have to do this another time,"

"What's going on?"

"The team from Soul Society has arrived,"

( #*%&)(#* &%)(#&*%()&*#%)(&* #)%& )#*&%() #&%)&*#% )(*%&)

_(10 minutes ago)_

It was currently lunch break at Karakura High School.

Today it was Ichigo's turn to clean the chalk board, as such he was still in class wiping off the last of today's lecture. More accurately, he was reading them first, then wiping them off. He'd barely paid attention the entire first half of class, he'd been too worried about his hollow seizing control of his body. It was like the bastard was waiting with knife behind his back, holding off for just the right moment so that it could be performed in a single swoop.

Ichigo began to wonder if perhaps he should have taken that deal with Shinji that Kuroda had set up for him. He'd believed that simply preventing himself from being defeated would defend him against his hollow, but now it was sneaking up on him even when he was perfectly healthy.

He could even feel it coursing through his veins now, like some sort of disease. But what was the cure?

Before his thoughts could go any further, the class room door was suddenly flung open.

In the doorway, stood five very familiar people

"Hey there Ichigo, it's been a bit!"

"Wha-, R-Renji? Ikkaku! Yumichika! Rangiku! Toshiro!"

"That's Captain Hitsugaya to you," the Captain growled at Ichigo's informality,

"What are all of you doing here?" asked Ichigo, ignoring Toshiro's command

"We've been stationed here by the Captain Commander," explained Renji, "we're the advance team to fight the Arrancar threat."

"Arran…who?"

"What? Are you telling me you fought the enemy without even knowing what they were?" Renji asked, behind him Yumichika facepalmed,

"What are you talking about?"

"You idiot," said a new voice, "those guys you were fighting the other day,"

The group of shinigami parted, revealing a very familiar face.

"I see you're still helpless without me,"

"Rukia?"

The female shinigami smiled, "it's good to see you again, Ichigo"

Ichigo felt a smile touch his face, he didn't know why, but just seeing Rukia again made him feel light as a feather. He quickly rushed over to meet her and might have even given her a hug, if she didn't just kick him in the face.

"Ah! What the-"

Rukia followed up with two slaps to his face,

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" he demanded,

"It was for your pathetic face!" she screamed back then grabbed him by the ear, "come with me!"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Let go of my ear!"

A few painful minutes later, the two of them found themselves on the roof top.

"Do you greet everyone this way after you haven't seen them for two months?" asked Ichigo as he rubbed his sore ear, "why are we up here anyway?"

"What the hell is wrong with you!" she demanded,

"Me? I should be asking that! You kick me, then slap me after I haven't seen you for two months, then you drag me by the ear like I'm some kid! I don't think I'm the one with a problem!"

Rukia slapped him, "why haven't you changed into a shinigami for nearly a week? Ever since you were defeated by those Arrancar, you've been totally inactive!"

Ichigo was taken aback but found that he wasn't totally surprised that she knew. Soul Society monitored the world of the living after all, they were bound to find out.

"There's no reason," he replied calmly, "there just haven't been any hollows around for me to kill,"

"That's not the reason and you know it, I can see it in your eyes," she said, "what's going on Ichigo? What are you afraid of?"

Ichigo's face was unmoving, he turned to the roof exit, "I'm not afraid of anything, what happened to me during that battle doesn't concern you, I can deal with it myself."

Rukia was suddenly in between him and the door.

"move," he ordered,

"Chad and Orihime were nearly killed in that battle,"

"I know," he replied painfully, "I was there"

"So what, you give up?" she asked, "are you so easily broken that one failure destroys your whole resolve?"

Ichigo didn't respond,

"Are you afraid of defeat? Are you afraid that you can't protect your friends?"

Again, Ichigo didn't respond,

"Or are you afraid, of the hollow inside of you?"

The substitute shinigami let out a silent gasp, she knew? Rukia took one look at his face, and knew she'd hit her mark.

"So that's it, you're afraid of what's inside of you, or maybe, that thing inside of you is what causes you to fear everything else, is that it?"

Ichigo lowered his gaze,

"Idiot! If you're afraid of being defeated, then get stronger so that no one can defeat you! If you're afraid that you can't protect your friends, then become strong for them and swear that you'll protect them with your very life! And if you fear the hollow inside of you, become strong enough to crush it, so they you'll never have to fear it again! Because that, is the kind of person you are Ichigo! That's the man I know you to be!"

Ichgio's eyes became wide, strangely enough, he felt new strength flow into his limbs. Whereas before he'd felt weak and powerless, now he felt strong and prepared. He didn't need Shinji, he could do this on his own.

He smiled, but before he could respond to Rukia, another person entered the roof, it was Orihime, in bandage and cast.

"Ichigo? Are you up here, I heard Rukia was back so I thought she might- Oh! Rukia!"

"Hey Orihime, it's been a while!" greeted Rukia,

"It's good to see you again," replied the taller girl, "will you be staying for long this time?"

"We can talk about that later, right now," she grabbed Ichigo and pulled him over, "this idiot has something to say to you, right Ichigo?"

"Orihime…I…I-"

"He's sorry for being weak," cut in Rukia,

"Stop interrupting me," Ichigo said irritated, "Orihime, I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect you last time, next time, I'll definitely win and I'll definitely protect you."

The orange haired girl immediately lit up, 'Thank goodness, he's back to his old self!'

"Thank you, Ichigo"

( #*%&() #*&%)( *#&%)(*&#)%( #&*%)( #*&%()#&*%) #(*&%) #&%)

_(Current time)_

"I see this room is just as small as ever," said Rukia, stepping into Ichigo's room,

"Ruuuuuuuukkkkkiiiiiiiaaaaaaaa!"

WHAM!

"And I see you're still the same Kon," said Rukia as she kept the stuffed toy animal under her foot,

"Don't call my room small," growled Ichigo, "I'm not rich like Byakuya"

Outside of Ichigo's room, Isshin and one of Ichigo's sisters, Yuzu, crept up the stairs to his door and both put glasses to the door. They then pressed their ear's against the cups and listened in intently.

They were interrupted when Ichigo's other sister, Karin, came up the stairs and caught them ease dropping.

"I was wondering where everybody had gone…what are you two doing?"

"Shh!" shushed Yuzu, "Karin! It's terrible, Ichigo brought a girl home!"

Karin raised an eyebrow, "so? He's been bringing girls home since he was in middle school. Though it was just Tatsuki"

"But this one is different from Tatsuki, she's more…more…girly and she's pretty too!"

"Tatsuki's gotten pretty sexy too you know," pointed out Karin,

"Seriously!" asked Isshin, "Tatsuki's hot now?"

The conversation was interrupted when Ichigo suddenly came bursting out the door, yelling "What the hell is going on out here!"

"Whoa!"

"AAAH!"

The duo quickly scrambled away,

Ichigo scowled,

Karin sighed, "some family,"

Ichigo shut his door closed again and Karin went back down stairs. As she went, the door bell rang and she went to answer it.

"Yes?" she asked as she opened, much to her surprise she recognized the man standing at their door. Not from personally meeting him, but from the news and magazines,

"Hello young lady," the man said,

"Y-y-your…your…"

"Kuroda Ryou," he finished, "at your service,"

"Karin, whose at the door?" asked Yuzu,

"A multi-millionaire," she responded weakly,

"What?" Yuzu came to the door and gasped, "you're that person from the magazines and news!"

"That's me" replied Kuroda, "I'm looking for your brother, Ichigo, is he here right now?"

"Uh, yes, I'll go get him," said Yuzu, who then went off to fetch her brother,

"What do you want with my brother?" asked Karin,

"He's a friend of mine," explained Kuroda, "I just wanted to show him this new TV I got and let him ride in my limo like I promised,"

Kuroda motioned to the limo at his back, at which Karin nearly fainted at the sight of.

"Do you think, I could ride in that some day?" she asked hopefully,

"Sure,"

Karin dropped to the floor, "I love my brother so much,"

"Karin? Why are you one the floor?" asked the arriving Ichigo, who had Rukia with him, "Oh, Kuroda it is you, what do you want?"

"Hey Ichigo, Ms. Kuchiki," he greeted, "let's go for a ride"

"Um…okay, but what about-"

"I just told her she could ride in the limo someday," explained Kuroda, "must've been too much for her."

"That makes sense, I think. Come on Rukia,"

Together the three of them entered the overly long vehicle.

"Let's go" said Kuroda when they'd all been seated, with him at the back and Ichigo and Rukia behind the driver's cabinet.

The car began to move,

"Have you informed him of the Arrancar yet?"

"Not yet," replied Rukia,

"Oh, yeah, those guys, who are they? And what do they want with me?"

"Hold off on the questions for a bit Ichigo," replied Kuroda, "I want everyone to be present when it's explained to you."

#%*(&( #)%*&) #%&*) #(&*)( #&*%) (#%&) #&%)

After arriving at Kuroda's apartment complex, the three took the elevator up the building and walked to his room.

"I don't think I've ever been to your place," commented Ichigo,

"Well, you have now," replied Kuroda as he opened the door, where he was immediately tackled to the ground,

"DAD!" cried Mei, holding her foster father in a powerful hug, "I missed you! Did you miss me? Did you? Did you? Did you? Did you?"

"Get off of me and I'll tell you," he growled,

"Oh, okay," she said, pushing herself off of him. Kuroda rose and she asked, "Did you?"

"Yes Mei," he replied, brushing himself off, "I missed you"

He then noticed that his adopted daughter was wearing the Karakura High School uniform, which consisted of a white dress shirt, a red bow tie for girls like her, and a skirt.

'A skirt that's a bit too short,' he thought to himself,

"Don't you think I look cute?" she asked, turning herself around for him to see,

"Yeah, sure," he replied, then then thought, 'where do they get these uniforms? My Little Hooker?'

"Come on, we've got a lot to talk about," he said to all as he walked in,

Ichigo and Rukia entered,

"Whoa!" was Ichigo's immediate reaction,

"It's not bad," said Rukia, "but I bet my brother could do better."

"About time you showed up Ichigo,"

"Renji?"

"Yo! Kuroda brought us all over here to bring you up to date on what's going on," explained Renji from the sofa,

Ichigo looked around and saw that the members of the group which he'd seen at school were scattered around the room. Rangiku sat on the couch as well, next to her boyfriend Kaito.

Yumichika and Ikkaku sat next to each other on another sofa, and Toshiro sat on the arm rest of the same sofa that his Lieutenant was sitting on.

In addition, Rajin stood leaning against the wall near the windows.

"Has anyone seen Yoruichi?" asked Kuroda,

No one said anything, apparently none of them knew.

"Here I am" she called from upstairs, the woman came down and sat next to Kuroda

"Good, we're all here," said the Commander, walking behind the couch Ikkaku and Yumichika sat on, "very well, I suppose we should start this meeting."

"About time," muttered Ichigo as he and Rukia sat on the floor between the two couches, "so who are these…Arrancaar?"

Renji spoke first, "Arrancar are hollow who have removed their masks and gained the powers of a shinigami in addition to the ones they already have.

Rukia suddenly brought out her sketch book and showed it to Ichigo, who was reluctant to look.

"Up until now," continued Renji, "there were few of them and they were all still incomplete. But now complete Arrancar have been created due to their contact with Aizen and his use of the Hougyoku."

Rukia flipped the page

"And those two you fought from the other day were some of the Arrancar he created, understand so far?"

"Yeah, I get it," replied Ichigo, then mumbled, "I'd understand it even better without the horrible drawings."

Rukia then proceeded to smack him over the head with her sketchbook.

"At first Soul Society just planned on quietly watching Aizen until he started to move," continued Renji, "Especially after having lost three Captains to the enemy. But things are moving along quicker than anticipated, more and more Arrancar are picked up on the 12th division's radar by the day. Now that they've come to the world of the living, we couldn't afford to just sit back any longer. So they sent in an advance team, us"

"Who chose?"

"The Captain Commander, ever since all of Central 46 was killed, he's been the one calling the shots," explained Renji, "Rukia was selected since she knows the town and you best, I knew Rukia the best, then I asked Ikkaku to come, then Yumichika insisted on coming along, and then Rangiku got interested and decided to come along too."

Kuroda noticeably sighed and rubbed his forehead, then muttered something about "idiots"

Ichigo had to agree, "Is this a task force or a party?"

"At any rate," interrupted Captain Hitsugaya, "Aizen had for some reason developed an interest in you Ichigo. We believe he may see you as a threat."

Ichigo noticeably became sullen, "not anymore he doesn't"

"There's more that you should know," continued Hitsugaya, "when a hollow removes it's mask, it does become an Arrancar. But most of the time, they aren't much of a threat and are fairly weak. If he's going to wage war against Souls Society, Aizen wouldn't settle with regular hollows. His army, would have to consist of hollows even more powerful than the Menos."

"Greater than the Menos? Are there hollows like that that exist?"

Hitsugaya nodded, "more specifically, there are three subdivisions among the Menos Grande. The first are the Gillian, they're the lowest level of Menos and could be likened to foot soldiers. They all look alike and are nothing more than dumb animals really. I believe you fought one before, shortly after gaining your shinigami powers the first time,"

Ichigo did indeed remember that monstrous hollow that he'd fought, he was stronger now, but to told that such a creature was nothing more than a simple foot soldier was disheartening.

"The other two are where the problem starts. The second class of Menos are known as Adjuchas, they tend to be smaller than the Gillian and are fewer in number, but they are highly intelligent and are several times more powerful. Then there's the third class, the Vasto Lorde; they are easily the most powerful class of Menos. Among the Menos, they are the most human like in appearance, but there are very few of them. It's been said that you could count the total number of Vasto Lorde in Hueco Mundo with just the fingers on your hands. Putting it bluntly, if Aizen could find any of the last two class of Menos, he could create truly powerful Arrancar. Vasto Lorde Arrancar, have been known to surpass the abilities of even the Captains of Soul Society. If Aizen has found even 10 Vasto Lorde to aid them, then Soul Society could be doomed."

A deafening silence filled the room as Hitsugaya's explanation came to an end.

"So, what do we do?" asked Ichigo,

This time Kuroda spoke, "thankfully for us, the number of Vasto Lorde are incredibly low, as such, Aizen most likely hasn't found ten of them, I think we can count on that at the very least. Which means that the majority of his army will most likely be made up of Gillian or Adjuchas, I've fought Adjucaha Arrancar recently, so I have some experience as to the extent of their power."

"What was it like? Were they strong?" asked Ichigo,

"The one I fought, was kind of weak," said Kuroda, "I'd say that he was about the same strength as that large one that we saw, Yoruichi fought one too"

Yoruichi confirmed it, "mine was the stronger of the two, he was definitely stronger than the large one that we encountered. However, I feel that he wasn't quite strong enough to give a Captain or a lieutenant too much trouble. But there was a third one,"

"Right, Tokage, I fought him," said Kuroda, "Tokage was an artificial Arrancar, similar to the ones that Aizen is creating now. Tokage was much stronger than the other two, he might have only been Adjucha class as a hollow, but as an Arrancar, he could definitely pose some challenge to a Captain class shinigami,"

"Though, this doesn't mean that Aizen won't be able to find Vasto Lorde hollow," admitted Kuroda, "and if that happens, then we're just going to hope that the strongest Captains are ready to step up to the challenge."

"Understood," said Hitsugaya, "thank you for sharing this information with us."

"Well, I think that's all that needs to be said for this meetings," said Kuroda,

"Agreed," said Hitsugaya, "time for us to go."

"Say hi to Byakuya for me when you get back," remarked Ichigo,

"What? You idiot, we're not going back to Soul Society until the Arrancar threat is dealt with," scolded Renji ,

"What? Where are all of you going to stay?" asked Ichigo, "and before you answer, let me make it clear, you can't all stay with me."

With that said, the shinigami simultaneously turned their heads to Kuroda. The man raised an eyebrow, but said, "I could probably get some rooms for all of you."

"Ooh, Rangiku can stay with me!" jumped Kaito,

"That sounds like fun," Rangiku said excitedly, "I guess I'm set then"

With that, the two of them said their goodbyes and exited the apartment.

"You don't have to find anything for us," said Ikkaku, "me and Yumichika don't need taking care of, we'll find our own place to sleep."

The two 11th division members exited as well,

"I'll be heading off to Urahara's," said Renji as he stood up to leave, "I've got a few things to ask him anyway and I'm sure he won't mind."

After the red headed lieutenant left, Kuroda turned to the young Captain of the team.

"I guess I just have to provide for you then," said Kuroda, "good this'll be a lot easier then setting up for six"

Kuroda took out his cell phone from his pocket and dialed in a number, after a bit of waiting a voice asked, "Ryou Karakura Hotels, how can I help you?"

"It's me,"

"Oh! M-Mr. Ryou! Sir! How can I be of help for you today?"

"Do we have any free rooms?" he asked, "my friend's son is over and needs a place to sleep while he waits for his father,"

"Oh, I do believe we have some rooms available, does the young man have a preference?"

Kuroda lowered his phones, "anything in particular you need?"

"Just a bed to sleep,"

Kuroda replaced the phone to his hear, "He just wants a regular room, nothing fancy."

"Very well Mr. Ryou, I'll ready a room for him right away!"

"Good, have his bill sent to my accountants," ordered Kuroda, "the boy goes by the name of Toshiro Hitsugaya. He's about four and half feet tall and has white hair, can't miss him."

"I'll see to him myself Mr. Ryou,"

"Good,"

Kuroda hung up, "it's all sorted out,"

"Thank you," replied Toshiro, "just give me the address and I'll find my way there,"

Kuroda wrote the address of his hotel on a small piece of paper and gave it to the young Captain who then left. He then turned to Rukia,

"I'll be staying with Ichigo," she said,

"You will?" asked Ichigo,

"Of course, that's the only place I can really sleep" she berated as she exited the apartment,

"Oi! Wait, Rukia! My family has already seen you!"

"Ms. Kuchiki!" Kuroda suddenly called, "may I speak to you for a moment?"

"Oh, sure," she replied,

"Ichigo, please wait out in the hall," said Kuroda,

"Oh, sure" the teenage boy left,

"What is it?" asked Rukia,

"I heard that little talk you had with Ichigo,"

Rukia was immediately caught off guard, "w-what about it?"

"It was a pretty little speech," said Kuroda, his voice calm, "but I do wish you hadn't given it to him."

"What? Why?" cried out Rukia, "Ichigo was in despair! He needed comfort!"

"It's not so much that I have a problem with you cheering him ups," stated Kuroda, "but more, the words you used to speak to him."

"What do you mean?"

"You are aware of his…condition?"

"The hollow inside of him, yes?"

"Yes," replied Kuroda, "you told him, that if he was afraid of the hollow inside of him, he should get stronger so that he would never need to fear it again"

Rukia nodded,

Kuroda sighed, "I wish you hadn't gotten his hopes up like that"

"Why not?" Rukia asked, voice dripping with venom,

"Because you do not know the true nature of what plagues him," replied Kuroda,

"And you do?" she shot back,

"Yes," Kuroda said sternly, "I do. Ichigo's hollow problem cannot be solved through brute force, but you've convinced him that it can be; now he's going to suffer more because of you."

"I believe he can conquer his hollow," Rukia replied adamantly, "Ichigo can defeat his hollow and he will!"

Kuroda shook his head despairingly, "you might as well be cheering him as he fights against air."

"He can do it," she repeated,

"I'm glad someone like you is by his side," said Kuroda, "but you have doomed him in this regard, do me a favor, the next time he loses control, tell him to seek help,"

Rukia's glare faltered, the surety in Kuroda's voice suddenly made her feel like she'd just done something truly terrible. So instead of shooting the request back at him, Rukia just slowly nodded, then left.

When she was out of the room, Yoruichi asked, "was that really necessary?"

"Yes," Kuroda replied immediately, "when someone makes a mistake, they need to be corrected."

"Guess I'll be leaving too, good bye Commander" said Rajin walking to the door, "later commander

Then there was silence,

"I'll be staying here, right dad?" asked Mei, seemingly having completely ignored the prior conversation,

"Of course you will be, why wouldn't you?" he asked, standing up from his seat, "come on, I'll show you your room."

"Yay!" the young shinigami quickly followed her foster father upstairs, "can I decorate it?"

"Sure,"

"Will you pay for it?"

"Sure"

"Do you think I can go shopping tomorrow?"

"Sure"

Yoruichi giggled a bit as she watched the two walk up to Mei's room, it was surprising how nice of a father Kuroda could be.

(#* %&)( #*&%() *#&%)(*&%)( #*&%)( #*&%) #(*%&)%(&*#) )

"And because of that, I lost my house, all of my belongings, and my family is beginning to split apart"

Ichigo stood to the side awkwardly as he tried to bare through Rukia's made up sob story, whilst dabbing her eyes dramatically with a tissue.

"And so, I had to turn to Ichigo, I thought that since he is such a nice person and the family he had seemed so nice, I might be able to find refuge with them."

When she was done with her length and teary explanation, both Isshin and Yuzu were beginning to cry as well. Ichigo's sister flew into her dad's arms crying out, "Let her stay dad, please!"

Isshin replied crying just as hard "Of course Yuzu! I was thinking the same thing!"

Ichigo could only face palm, Rukia turned to him and gave him a quick thumbs up with a grin.

"Be more subtle" he whispered, "they'll realize it's an act!"

( #*)(#*%&) (*&)% (#*&% ()#*&% ()#%&) (#*%&)(# &%() #&%*)(&*%#)

"It's a bit bland right now," said Kuroda as he showed Mei her room, "but like I said, you can decorate it later."

Mei excitedly explored her new living quarters, jumping on the bed while laughing girlishly.

"This is so bouncy," she squealed, "this is way more fun than what we have at the barracks."

"I'm glad you like it,"

Mei suddenly grabbed the pillow off the bed and began to swat and Kuroda with it, yelling "pillow fight! Hit the daddy! Hit the daddy!"

"Hey, come on now," said Kuroda as he fended off her attacks with his arms,

"Having fun?"

Kuroda turned to see Yoruichi at the door, the Black Ops commander, without looking, quickly yanked the pillow from Mei's hands and pushed her back onto the bed with it.

"Oof!" she let out, "you win this round!"

"I win all rounds," replied Kuroda as he walked out the door, "I'll get dinner started soon."

"Yay! I get to eat dad's cooking and not that crap they serve in the barracks!"

"Watch your language young lady," Kuroda called back from down stairs,

Mei quickly covered her mouth with her hands, Yoruichi just chuckled.

()(* &#)%(*&#)(*%&) #(*%&)(*&%)#*%&) #(%&*)&*% #)

When Rangiku arrived in Kaito's apartment, the first thing she asked for was the restroom so that she could take a bath.

At the prospect of the voluptuous woman being naked in his place, the 3rd seat immediately pointed her to the bathtub.

"Do you need some company in there?" asked Kaito as she entered,

Rangiku giggled, a sly smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye, "maybe"

"There are Arrancar about you know, I just want to keep you safe is all," said the 3rd seat,

She strut flirtatiously towards him, purposefully exaggeration the swing of her hips, "Oh, then you really should join me, I don't want the big bad hollows to get me,"

Not missing a beat, Kaito added, "Who knows, it might be fun,"

Rangiku gave him a small kiss on the cheek then proceeded to give him a playful slap on the behind, before strutting back towards the bathroom, "well come on then"

'With a butt like that, how can I not follow' he thought as he joined her in the bath.

After a bit of intimate activity, the two lovers found themselves simply lounging in bathtub, neck deep in steam hot water.

Rangiku lay down on her side on top of Kuroda's muscular body, using her finger to trace small circles on his well-defined chest with one hand while keeping her other arm wrapped around his neck to hold him in a deep embrace.

"Told you it could be fun," he whispered into her ear,

Rangiku shuddered as she felt his breath roll across her skin, "mmm, you were right."

Kaito lovingly stroked her silky long hair and held her to him around the waist. Despite what other people think and the very open way they acted around each other, the relationship he had with the lieutenant of the 10th division was no purely lust.

The two of them just felt very comfortable around each other. Why shouldn't they, the two of them were like a match made in heaven. Both of them were fun loving people who liked to openly express themselves, the fact that they both loved drinking helped too.

It was moments like this, where they just held each other tightly after passionate love making, that confirmed his feelings for the woman. If their relationship was just about sex, then he'd feel no need to hold her tightly to him, but Kaito felt the need to hold her tightly regardless of the situation.

"What are you thinking up there?" asked Rangiku, interrupting his thoughts,

Kaito smiled, "just how lucky of a guy I am to be holding such a hottie like you."

"Hmm" she smiled, "so, black ops division huh?"

The question caught Kaito off guard, "what?"

"Looks like I finally found out what division you belong to after all these years," she said,

"Uh…"

"Don't try to deny it; the Black Ops division is the only possible one,"

"I…suppose the truth is out, you weren't even supposed to know about it, who told you?"

"My Captain," she replied, "apparently he was there when the Captain Commander offered to have your boss reinstated."

"Really, and he told you? I thought the old man would have kept it secret"

"He's a scary man,"

"Who?"

"Your boss,"

"Oh, Kuroda, I don't think he is,"

"Really, he scared me to death on the Soukyoku hill,"

"I guess he can come off as a bit…crazy, but he's nice enough once you get to know him," explained Kaito, "you know, he saved me."

"I don't think you've told me that story," she said as she lay her head down on his chest, "will you tell it to me?"

"Heh, sure, but I think we should get out of this water first, otherwise we'll get all tender,"

(&#(*$& #()&)(*$& )(*&$) #*(&)#*&$) #($&)&*$)#&* $)&$) #&)

"Wow! This looks great dad!" said Mei as she beheld the plates of food spread out on the dining table, "thank you very much!"

Kuroda simply grunted,

Mei was the first to start grabbing food, with her first bite she let out a long "mmm"

"So good!"

"I know right," said Yoruichi as she too ate the food,

"Do you think you can teach me to cook like you do?" Mei asked hopefully,

"Sure," said Kuroda as he placed one of the coconut shrimp in his mouth,

"So how do you like the world of the living so far?" Yoruichi asked Mei,

"Well, it's a bit early to say," replied the young girl, "but so far I'm enjoying my time here, there's so many neat things, I can see why my dad stayed here as long as he did."

"I was in exile Mei, not on a vacation," pointed out Kuroda,

"I know, I know, but there are so many nice things here, have you been to that place called the convenience store? It has everything in one place! We should totally get one of those in Soul Society!"

"I suppose," said Kuroda a he continued to eat,

"Hey, Yoruichi can I ask you a question?"

"Sure thing Mei,"

"Are you and my Dad dating?"

"Gwah!" Kuroda nearly choked on the food he'd been swallowing, only saving himself by pounding on his chest. Before he could completely relieve himself, Yoruichi responded by saying,

"Yeah, I guess we are,"

"Wha-"

"We even went on a date today,"

"That wasn't a-"

"Cool! I've always wanted a Mom! You would not believe how hard it is being the only girl!"

"She's not going to be your-"

"Well Kuroda I'd have to marry Kuroda before I become part of the family,"

"What are-"

"Dad, when are you gonna propose to Yoruichi?"

"I don't…what are…why" he stuttered

His chance to form a coherent response was foiled, when a massive wave of reiatsu came crashing down upon them.

(# )(& #(%&*#()%& )#(&%*)#&)%&* #)%&)&%#)(%& )#%&)#%*&)#&*%) &%) #)

"This is the greatest day ever," declared Tyran, as he and his two fraccion appeared above Karakura town, "today, I finally get to meet him."

"Meet who Lord Tyran?" asked Yin

"Kuroda Ryou, Commander of Seireitei's Black Ops division," replied Tyran, "I finally get to meet him and of course, fight him."

"I'm sure he'll be no match for your power Lord Tyran," said Yang, "I bet fighting him will be like swatting a fly,"

"Hm, I'm glad you girls are so knowledgeable of the extent of my power, but no, fighting Kuroda will not be so easy, in fact I'm planning on it being hard," the Cero Espada liked his lips,

"My lord?" Yin asked, obviously confused,

"Kuroda will be a strong opponent, because he and I are just like each other," explained Tyran, "come on, let's get somewhere a little less populated, shinigami like that kind of stuff."

The Cero Espada and his two fraccion flew away to the most rural looking part of Karakura, where a tall mountain stood.

They sped away so fast, they never noticed a second Garganta opening up above Karakura, this one containing six Arrancar, one of them was known as the Sexta Espada.

(( )(%& #)(*&%)( #*&%)(*#&%)(*&%) #(*%&) #(*%&)(*&%)# &%) #&)%& #)(%&*)

"Alright," said Tyran as he and his fraccion hovered over the mountain, "this should be good."

"Lord Tyran"

"Mm? What?"

"What did you mean when you said that this shinigami was like you?"

"Heh, well you see, we're both-"

"Both what?"

The trio of Arrancars whipped around to see the man that had just been the subject of their discussion, hovering in the air just a few meters from them. At his side was what looked like a young teenage girl with sky blue hair in a strange style, dressed in a tight shihakusho top and form fitting tights.

"That was quick," noted Tyran as he casually walked out to meet them, "and quiet, takes a special kind of shinigami to slip through my senses undetected."

Kuroda remained silent,

"Yin, Yang,"

"Yes Lord?" they asked simultaneously,

"Keep that girl busy,"

"Yes Lord," said Yin,

"Come shinigami, we do not wish to get in the way of Lord Tyran's fight,"

"That's fine by me," the young shinigami said, her voice icy and devoid of emotion,

Together, the three girls disappeared with Shunpo and Sonido.

"Wow, finally get to meet you," Tyran said excitedly, "you know, given what Aizen has told me of you, I half expected you to attack on sight."

"Who are you?" asked Kuroda, ignoring the Arrancar's question,

"Oh, how rude of me, Tyran the Cero Espada," he introduced, "and you are-"

"Kuroda Ryou, Commander of the Black Ops Division,"

"Yes, yes, I've waited a long time to finally meet you, why don't we have some fun?"

**End**

**A/N**

**So, as you probably guessed, the next chapter will be action packed!**

**You'll get to see:**

**Kuroda vs Tyran, I've been planning that one for a while, telling you right now, neither of them die.**

**Mei vs Yin and Yang, you'll finally get to see Mei in action and she will be showing off her shikai.**

**Ichigo vs Grimmjow, with the training Ichigo has received, the fight will go differently than the one in anime and manga had.**

**I do hope that you enjoyed this chapter, I particularly enjoyed writing that beginning sequence.**

**It was also admittedly a bit fun to write about Kaito and Rangiku, they've got great chemistry, in my opinion.**

**Also, I hope you guys were surprised by Kuroda shooting down Rukia's speech. I actually looked back at Rukia's pep talk to write this chapter and when I listened to it, sure it made me feel good, but if you think about it, it kind dooms Ichigo in the end because he continues to go on without help from the Vizards, plus it kind of shows you what Kuroda is like.**

**I'll be going away to Canada for the weekend, so don't expect an update too soon.**

**Anyway, please subscribe, review, favorite, and share!**

**Bye Bye!**


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer: I don't own the anime series Bleach, only the OC's belong me**

Chapter 34

Fall

"Tyran, the Cero Espada, and you are-"

"Kuroda Ryou, Commander of the Black Ops division"

"Yes, yes, I've waited a long time to finally meet you, why don't we have some fun?"

( &#^%*& #)*(&%)(& #*%) &*%)&#%*)&%)&#)*%& #)

Mei and the other two female Arrancar appeared up in the sky above the town a good distance away from Kuroda and Tyran so as to not get in their way. The young shinigami took this time to take a good look and her opponents, across from her, the two were most likely doing the same thing.

It was two against one, Mei didn't like those odds, she hoped that one of the other Shinigami might come to her aid but for the moment she had to assume that she was on her own. Judging from their reiatsu, these two weren't exactly pushovers either.

A smirk found its way on to her lips.

'Good,' she thought, 'I can finally show off everything that I've been taught.'

"Hey!' called one of the Arrancar, bringing Mei out of her musings, "what are you so happy about over there? Don't you realize you're out matched?"

Mei's smirk widened a little, "is that so? I apologize, I didn't realize. I'm just happy that I finally get to show my father everything that I've learned."

"You're father? You mean that guy back there with Lord Tyran?" asked the blue one,

"Yeah, that's him,"

"You're a foolish little girl," mocked the red one, "Lord Tyran will tear him apart"

"I don't know, my Dad is pretty strong. But enough talking, I'd rather get this fight over with quickly. I have school tomorrow and need my rest," Mei slowly slid her zanpaktou, a wakizashi on her back, out of its sheath and brought it up in a reverse grip.

The Arrancar similarly brought out their own weapons, the blue one held what looked to be a whip that crackled with electricity, the red one held what looked to be a sword that almost immediately lit itself on fire.

"What's your name?"

"Shinigami?"

"Mei Ryou, 3rd seat of the 8th division"

"We are Yin" said the blue one

"and Yang" said the red one,

"loyal fraccion of the Cero Espada Lord Tyran!"

( #*%&)#( %*&)&*(% #)%&*) #%&*)#%*& )#%&)%&* )

"Now, how should I kill you?" the Arrancar asked sardonically,

Ichigo narrowed his eyes. He had arrived at Chad's apartment just in time to save his friend from being killed. Knowing that Chad was out of his league in this battle, Ichigo had sent his friend away so that he could deal with this Arrancar.

He knew that Chad's pride was most likely hurt and that in turn hurt Ichigo, but it was for the best in the end.

The Substitute Shinigami pulled off the bandage around his head and readied Zangetsu. He sensed a presence behind him.

"Rukia?"

She grunted in confirmation, "I met Chad on the way here, what did you say to him?"

"Nothing, I just told him to stay back and let me handle this," he replied, Rukia sighed.

"Are you two done talking?" asked the Arrancar, "if you are, I'd like to get around to the part where I kill both of you."

Ichigo glared daggers at the Arrancar, he reached out with his senses to see just how strong this Arrancar was. When he found out his eyes narrowed even more.

Without hesitation, he unexpectedly sunk Zangetsu into the pavement beneath his feet. Both the Arrancar and Rukia were caught off guard and looked at him questioningly.

"What are you doing?" asked the Arrancar, "even if you're nothing more than I fly to me, I still want you to fight before I kill you."

"I'm ready," replied Ichigo, "it's your move."

The Arrancar glared suspiciously at him,

"Ichigo, you idiot! What are you doing?!"

"Pipe down," he called back, "I know what I'm doing."

"You cocky little…" the Arrancar burst towards him with the same hand he'd used on Chad, ready to plunge into his chest.

Ichigo simply stood there. Then, when it looked as if the attack would end him, he moved his own hand with blazing speed and caught it mere inches away from his chest. The Arrancar was at first stunned, but that quickly changed to pain when Ichigo brought his knee up into the Arrancar's stomach, then followed up with a strong punch to the Arrancar's jaw.

The Substitute struck with such force, that his opponent went tumbling away through the street to the point where he almost couldn't see him anymore.

But the Arrancar, despite being badly beaten, somehow managed to pull himself out from the rubble.

"Why, you, little-"

"D-Roy!" yelled a new voice,

Ichigo and Rukia immediately felt the newcomer's presence, for whoever it was carried with them a massive amount of reiatsu. Stronger than the one Ichigo had just fought and much stronger than the one he had fought only a few days ago.

"Stand down," said the voice, "I want this one."

They spotted the new Arrancar floating above them in the air, looking down at them with a sadistic look in his eye. Rukia swallowed, hard, this Arrancar was clearly on the level of a Captain.

"Pleasure to meet you Shinigami," drawled the Blue haired Arrancar, "I'm the Sexta Espada, Grimmjow."

The Arrancar kept looking down at them and they kept looking back. Their stand off was interrupted, when D-roy suddenly reappeared, "Grimmjow! This is my fight! Back-"

The Espada's reiatsu came slamming down on them, both D-Roy and Rukia buckled under its pure weight. Ichigo on the other hand, stood strong and defiant against the torrent. Instead of kneeling, he grabbed Zangetsu out from the ground and leapt up to the Arrancar's level.

The Espada noticed this and discontinued his show of power, he stared at the Shinigami now floating in the air with him.

"D-Roy!" he yelled as he kept his eyes on his new opponent, "I'm taking this one, you have fun with the other, but if you ever talk back to me again. I'll tear your head off."

"Yes, Grimmjow," muttered D-Roy, defeated without so much as a fight.

"Good," smiled Grimmjow,

"If we're going to fight," said Ichigo, speaking for the first time, "then I'd prefer it to be away from here."

Grimmjow kept smiling, "Is that so? I don't know, if you're not strong enough to even scratch me then it shouldn't really matter since you'll just die right a-"

Ichigo was suddenly right in front of Grimmjow, Zangetsu raised for a high blow. The Espada's shock blue eyes widened and quickly threw up his arms to block. The over sized weapon slammed down heavily upon Grimmjow's defense, for a brief moment, the two were tangled in a struggle for dominance.

Underneath his arms, Grimmjow smiled widely. He liked this kid's spirit!

"Stop smiling," Ichigo whispered in a dangerous tone, "or you'll lose your arms."

Grimmjow's smile quickly faded as he realized that the blade of the weapon was gradually digging through his hierro and was now cutting through his skin. The Espada quickly broke the lock and used sonido to back away.

Grimmjow looked down upon his arms, which both bore a small cut.

"Well what do you know?" the Espada smiled again, "alright Shinigami, we'll take this some place else. Follow me."

Grimmjow disappeared in a buzz of sonido, Ichigo quickly followed in a flash of Shunpo.

"Wait Ichigo!" called Rukia, but he was already gone,

"Don't you ignore me!"

Rukia turned just in time to see D-Roy lashing out at her with his katana, she quickly jumped out of reach and swallowed her gikon. She popped out of her gigai and into her Shinigami form, quickly drawing her zanpaktou.

She would have to worry about Ichigo later, right now she had her own problems.

(#(%&()#&*%() &%#)&) #&%() #%&)&% #)&%) #&#% &)

After what the Arrancar had said, Kuroda took a moment to simply stare at him.

"Have fun?"

"Yeah, you know, fight," explained Tyran, "I'm real excited about this to be honest,"

Kuroda stared back emotionlessly though he was a bit confused, perhaps this Arrancar was simply like Kenpachi. Another one who just liked fighting.

The Arrancar suddenly slapped his own forehead, "Ah! Right, you don't know, that's why you're not excited too."

"Know what?" asked Kuroda, whose patience was starting to thin.

"You don't know, that you and I, are just like each other," answered Tyran,

Kuroda cocked an eyebrow.

"Don't you know? We've both killed many enemies,"

"I thought that was natural for hollow, didn't you devour others so that you could attain the power you now have?"

"Oh I did, but I didn't mean just enemies," said Tyran, "I also meant, about the others who we've killed."

Now Kuroda was intrigued, but not in a good way. He was fully aware that Aizen probably had access to most of his records and that he would probably share it with his allies in order for them to gain some sort of upper hand. But exactly what he'd told this Arrancar was a mystery to him, the Arrancar seemed to catch on to that.

"Still confused huh? Well let me tell you a little story to make you understand," decided Tyran,

"before I became an Arrancar, I was a vasto lorde. The highest level of Menos that any hollow could ever hope to achieve, but I did not use my power to find more to satiate my hunger, nor did I use it to rule over those that were weaker than me. No, I used my power to gather all those that were weak and I took them under my wing and protected them."

Kuroda furrowed his eyebrows,

"Strange, right? I was good at it too, I gathered hundreds of other hollows. With my power alone, I kept the peace among them. I was an all seeing pair of eyes that watched over them. I turned them into a community. But then, one of ours committed a crime against another, an unforgiveable crime. I had to punish him the only way a hollow can be truly punished, I killed him."

"At first, I was devastated. I had worked so hard to create this community, so hard to get my kin to work with one another. But then, I found something else. I found, excitement, I found myself thrilled! I found myself just wanting more! I felt better than I ever had, watching over those hollow like a shepherd does over his flock of sheep! I devoured all of them and haven't regretted it since."

By now, Kuroda was beginning to catch on to what this Arrancar, Tyran, was getting. They were both…

"We're the same, you and I. We both have proudly bestowed ourselves the name, kin-slayer!"

Kuroda wasn't there anymore, he wasn't in the sky, standing calmly across from Tyran. He wasn't there at all, in fact, all that was left there was one leather seal.

Tyran's eyes widened, his katana was up in an instant. A fraction of a second later, another blade, this one red and glowing with power, slammed into it. The amount of power in conflict was enough to shake the mountain and cause stones to tumble loose.

Kuroda glared into Tyran's eyes with every fiber of hate he had.

"Don't you dare call me that!" he growled,

Tyran smiled back, "Now that's what I'm talking about! Show me my brother! Show me the power that you have attained from slaughtering your own! Show me the power that only those like us could ever possibly possese!"

Suddenly, Tyran wasn't there either. Kuroda's hate faltered for a brief moment as he realized his target was no longer under his blade.

"Show me!"

Kuroda whipped around and there was Tyran, holding a dark purple cero right up to his face.

( #%&() #*&%)( *&#%)(&*% #)&#%)&#%)&#% )#(%&)

The bright purple explosion, that was so far away, felt so very close to the three combatants. Mei felt a small pit of fear grow in her stomach as she witnessed the power that her father was contending with.

Yin and Yang however, smirked with confidence.

"Looks like it's started," said Yin, "by now your father is probably-"

The Arrancar's sentence was interrupted when a pair of sandaled feet slammed into the side of her face, sending her tumbling through the air.

"Yin!" cried out her sister,

Mei moved swiftly, lashing out with her zanpaktou. Yang quickly raised her own sword and deflected the attack, but as Mei's attack followed through after the strike, she flipped her weapon into a regular grip and came right back with a second attack.

Yang did not expect a second strike so quickly and as such her weapon, though it blocked the attack, was pushed aside. Mei took advantage of the opening, spun herself on her heel and lashed out with a kick that caught the Arrancar on the side of the head.

Her opponent tumbled across solid air and came to a stop a few meters away.

"little bitch," muttered Yang, wiping her mouth,

Mei began to move in to follow up, but was suddenly cut off by a stream of electricity. When the electricity cleared, Yang was already up and charging with her fiery blade. Mei raised her wakazashi to block but found it restrained, she traced the source to a whip, held by the other Arrancar.

"Die", electricity coursed up her whip towards Mei, the young shinigami realized what was happening and quickly released her weapon. By then, Yang was upon her.

Mei threw herself back as the Arrancar descended upon her, as she did she shot out her hand and grabbed Yang by the wrist. Together they fell, but Mei kicked her feet into Yang's stomach and tossed her away.

She then grabbed her Zanpaktou and yanked it free of Yin's whip. The Arrancar pulled her weapon back then cracked it at the shinigami. A bolt of lightning struck out at Mei, who promptly rolled to the side to avoid.

"Hado no.31: Shakkaho!"

A red ball of energy shot out from Mei's outstretched hand towards the Arrancar, but her opponent flicked her wrist and the whip sliced the ball in half.

However, Mei wasn't trying to harm the Ying. No, if she had been she would've put much more power into the attack. Ying no longer had sight of her, which is why when Mei burst out from the smoke, the Arrancar was in great surpise.

She might have died, if Mei wasn't abruptly interrupted by a solid kick to her own face.

Mei tumbled across the air but quickly righted herself. Before she could retaliate, a giant ball of fire rolled itself towards her, she quickly dropped herself down and avoided the attack, only to be struck by lightning.

Mei's teeth ground against each other as the energy coursed through her veins. When it ended, she felt like some of her life had been sucked right out of her.

"Done yet?" asked one of the twins,

Mei promptly stood up and replied, "not even close"

With a flash of Shunpo, she disappeared. The twins didn't expect her to be so fast, especially after being hit. She reappeared behind them, weapon already striking out with a wide swing.

The twin Arrancar quickly jumped away in opposite directions.

Mei tossed her zanpaktou into the air, then stretched out her palms at both opponents.

"Hado no.33: Sokatsui!"

From both palms, bright blue fire burst out towards the Arrancar. Yin lashed out with her whip and countered with a ball of lighting, Yang swung her fiery blade and countering with a ball of fire. The attacks collided and canceled each other out in twin explosions that enveloped both Yin and Yang in thick clouds of smoke.

"Is that the best you've got?" mocked Yang, no sooner had she finished when she saw a small glint of metal heading right towards her.

She quickly raised her weapon and blocked the incoming attack, she saw another glint coming and smacked it away. Strangely enough in neither of those attacks had she seen the shinigami. Her thoughts were interrupted by another glint, she swiped at it, smacking…something out of the air. Suddenly she saw another glint, this one was too fast, pain lanced up her thigh as something struck through her flesh.

She griminced then yanked out the offending object from her flesh. She held it up to her eyes to find some sort of small throwing dagger.

Yin was searching through the smoke to find the Shinigami, she saw a cloud of dust part as something moved through it.

"I've got you now," she cracked her whip at the target, her weapon struck something and she smiled. But the smile vanished when her whip began pulling back on her, the smoke parted and she saw that it was in fact her that was caught.

She had indeed seen the shinigami, but her whip was now caught in some sort of chain made of golden light.

"Bakudo no.63: Sajo Sabaku"

Mei wrapped the chain around her hand then quickly jerked it towards her, Yang was in turn pulled towards the Shinigami and her awaiting zanpaktou.

The young shinigami swung out to decapitate her opponent, but at the last moment Yang threw back her head, allowing the blade to miss her by centimeters. The Arrancar then spun herself and threw out her elbow. The strike connected with Mei's temple, staggering the young warrior.

But she fought through the pain and retaliated with a downward chop, Yang brought up her whip, stretching it out with both hands and blocked the attack.

By now the golden chain had broken, leaving Mei's left hand free. Using the Arrancar's whip as a sort of balance beam, she flipped herself over her opponent's head, landing behind them. Before Yang could try anything, Mei snaked her free hand around the Arrancar's neck, bringing her into a chokehold.

Yang saw the glint of the girl's zanpaktou, ready to be plunged into her heart.

"Die knowing that Mei Ryou sent you down to hell"

Down came the wakazashi

Suddenly, Yang began to glow a bright blue. Mei halted her killing blow, immediately she released her opponent and leapt away. Unexpectedly, the Arrancar's form began to change, shrinking and dividing until she became two balls of lightning.

"What the-"

The two balls of lightning suddenly raced towards her, spinning around one another like a pair of bolos. Mei tried to leap away to avoid, but found that the Arrancar's new form was simply too fast. They struck her head on, sending her spinning away.

Before she could recover, Yin joined the fray, dropping down on her with both feet. The kick collided with Mei's back, sending her spiraling towards the ground.

Yin transformed back into her previous form and nodded to her twin. With a crack of her whip she sent a pair of electric bolos, similar to her previous from, racing towards the falling shinigami. Yang then swung her sword, letting loose a stream of fire that enveloped the electric bolos.

The two attacks morphed and fused into one massive electrically charged ball of flame, headed right towards Mei.

( (*#%&)#(*%& )#(&%) (#&*%) #&%)& #%)%& )#&%#)

Grimmjow leapt forward with his now drawn katana slashing out while his face held a blood thirsty grin. Ichigo brought up Zangetsu and blocked the attack, halting Grimmjow's offensive, then retaliating with a swipe of his own. Grimmjow easily avoided it, then came back with a downward chop.

Instead of blocking this time, Ichigo sidestepped the strike, spun himself a full 360 while bringing Zangetsu down and up. At the end of the maneuver, he was positioned to bring Zangetsu down on Grimmjow's neck, and that's just what he did.

But Grimmjow threw up his free arm, relying on his hierro to protect him for a few precious seconds before escaping with a thin yet moderately deep wound on his forearm.

He looked down at his newly acquired wound, the kid was gradually getting more focused, which meant that he couldn't keep relying on his hierro, otherwise he might end up losing a limb.

Turning his attention back to the fight, Grimmjow used sonido to dash forward then bring his zanpaktou down in a powerful chop. Ichigo blocked with the flat of Zangetsu, there Grimmjow saw his chance. He raised up his foot, placed it on the flat of the enormous blade, then kicked off with all his strength.

Ichigo was sent skidding backward,

"Ha!" chuckled Grimmjow, he dashed forward after his opponent but was suddenly forced to retreat when Ichigo's weapon came hurdling towards him like a spear. Grimmjow stopped himself just in time, the blade halted inches from his chest then was pulled back.

The Sexta Espada saw that the Substitute was using the wrapping cloth of the blade to pull it back. Well, if long range was the name of the game, then he could play too.

He stretched out his left palm and began to build up his reiatsu, almost immediately an orange sized ball of red energy formed in his hand. Grimmjow unleashed his cero and let it engulf his opponent.

Ichigo saw the red light coming at him and quickly used Shunpo to save his life from the undoubtedly fatal attack. But when he reappeared, there was Grimmjow.

The Espada's blade slipped into Ichigo's ribs, the substitute yelped in pain. But he ground his teeth and fought through it, he took this opportunity to slam Zangetsu down on Grimmjow's shoulder. The blade bit through the Arrancar's hierro and into his flesh but did not create a major wound, at least, not yet.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

Zangetsu's swing was suddenly magnified a hundred times over. Grimmjow's eyes widned and his mouth let loose a roar as pain rocketed through his shoulder and was blasted away by a reiatsu blade. Now he was pissed!

He used sonido to reposition himself back above Ichigo, ignoring his gaping wound, he began mercilessly slamming his zanpaktou against Ichigo's defense, endlessly unleashing his fury upon the boy until finally Ichigo was tossed into the ground where he smashed four feet into the concrete and created a sizeable crater.

Grimmjow didn't even give the substitute time to recover, he dove down feet first with the intent to drive his shoes through the boy's stomach.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

The Espada quickly halted his descent and brought his zanpaktou up just in time to defend from the blade of reiatsu that slammed into him. It was a powerful attack but Grimmjow knew he would have little trouble surviving.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

Another blade of reiatsu slammed in behind the first one, creating a dog pile effect, causing Grimmjow to find himself in an intense struggle.

The two attacks finally dissipated, only to be replaced by Ichigo charging up to swing Zangetsu in a wide arc. Grimmjow quickly threw himself back, allowing the swing to pass him by, then shuffled forward and delivered a powerful backhand to Ichigo's face.

The substitute was literally sent spinning from the Arrancar's superior strength until he was halted by crashing into a building.

For a long moment, Ichigo simply lay limply in the crater he'd created in the building wall.

"What's the matter?" mocked Grimmjow, "I was just starting to have fun, don't tell me you're going to give up already."

Hearing those words, Ichigo pushed himself up, "in your dreams."

The Sexta Espada smirked,

Ichigo's response was to raise Zangetsu and yell,

"Ban-kai!"

( *(#%&)( #*&)#&*%) #&*(%)(#&*) (&*%)#&%) *&%)( #&*%)#*&% )% &#)

The dark purple light of Tyran's cero eventually died down, when it did, it smelled as though Tyran had cleansed the air itself. But more importantly, Tyran could find no trace of the man that had been in front of him a few seconds ago.

"Did I kill him?" the Espada asked aloud,

"You're wide open,"

Tyran saw a flash of red, his own zanpaktou quickly shot up.

Kuroda's blade, AnShen, had been stopped just inches away from Tyran's neck. The Espada's eyes traced along the blood red blade and found its owner standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

"Heh" chuckled Tyran, he noticed the menacing glare in his opponent's eyes, "you wanna kill me?"

Without warning, Kuroda broke the lock between them, spun himself a full 360 degrees while simultaneously jumping into the air. He then raised AnShen up above his head and brought it down in an overhead smash.

Tyran's own blade was immediately there, blocking the attack with little effort.

The struggled against each other for a brief moment until Kuroda broke off and used Shunpo to put some distance between them. He raised up AnShen, building up power in its blade,

"**Shibou Ryou!"**

Kuroda let loose the missile with a single stroke, it raced towards the stationary Arrancar who made no move to try and avoid it. Instead, he took the attack head on, literally. He slammed his head right into the missile, grinning the whole time.

The missile detonated against the Espada's head, but didn't even leave a scratch.

"Ha! That all you-"

Kuroda came bursting out of the smoke and delivered a vicious kick to the Espada's jaw. Tyran's head whipped back and he staggered back. He gave a small shake of his head, then rubbed his jaw.

"Hmm," without warning he stretched out his hand and fired a cero,

Kuroda quickly jumped out of the way only to be confronted with another cero, when he dodged that, he was confronted with another. A fourth one was fired at him and he used Shunpo to get out of the way. When he reappeared, a fifth one was already upon him.

There was no way to dodge, he quickly threw up AnShen and let it collide into the blade. He dug his heels into the air and attempted to direct it away, but in the end the beam began to slowly push him back and it pressed in on him with such force that he couldn't have even moved his arms if he tried.

When he realized that it would soon overwhelm him, Kuroda quickly threw himself backwards and letting the attack fly over him. When he realigned himself back up, he was confronted with Tyran already in front of him.

"When I first met you, you managed to take on one of my ceros and push it away, something happen since then?"

Kuroda didn't respond, instead opting to Shunpo forward and swing his sword at the Arrancar. Tyran quickly side stepped, Kuroda swung again but Tyran easily avoided it. Kuroda attempted a downward chop but Tyran simply leapt out of arms reach.

The Black Ops Commander ground his teeth and swung his sword in a wide arc,

"**Shino Kabe!"**

A wall of tortured souls was unleashed upon the Cero Espada, as its wailing power converged upon him, he simply stood there staring blankly as though in some other world. When he finally noticed the wave, he swung his zanpaktou, easily cutting through the attack.

When the dark wave dissipated, Kuroda was nowhere to be seen. Tyran quirked his head quizzically, for though he did not see the shinigami, he could not sense him, which should have been something relatively easy to do.

It was only at the last moment that Tyran did sense the Black Operative's signature, right behind. He quickly spun around, swinging his sword as he went. Then the strangest thing happened, his sword was caught! Not by a weapon, but by a hand. Kuroda's hand, or more specifically, Kuroda's hand wrapped in some sort of energy.

Without warning, Kuroda thrust AnShen forward into Tyran's chest and-

AnShen stopped, the blade had sliced through the Espada's shirt, but stopped when it hit flesh. It felt as though Kuroda had stabbed his weapon into a solid brick wall.

His eyes widened with realization, he couldn't cut his opponent.

( #(*%&) #(&*) #&%*)&(% #)&(%) #&%)& #%)&%) #&% #%&)

Mei tumbled through the air as she suffered yet another blow from the twin Arrancar. She quickly recovered, only to see a fiery blade descending upon her.

She raised her weapon and deflected the attack to the right and lashed out with her free hand, catching the red twin on the jaw. She was about to follow with a kick when she was suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning.

The bolt sent her skidding and caused her body to involuntarily spasm. When she recovered, Yin was already cracking her whip. The Arrancar's weapon wrapped itself around Mei's wakazashi, the young shinigami knew what was coming and immediately released her grip.

Unfortunately, instead of sending a current of electricity down the whip like Mei expected the Arrancar to do, Yin jerked back on her whip, bringing Mei's weapon to her hand.

Weaponless, but not helpless, Mei dashed right for the Arrancar. She was cut off when Yang popped up in her path and sent a large fireball right for her.

The shinigami stretched out both her palms,

"Hado no.33 Sokatsui!"

Blue fire blasted out of her outstretched hands and collided with the red twin's fireball. The two attacks canceled each other out in a powerful explosion and a gust of stinging smoke.

Yang scattered the smoke with another fireball, Mei promptly spun out of the way and flew right up to the red twin. She lashed out with two punches, both of which the Arrancar dodged, then followed up with a move she'd learned from a video game, called the "thousand kicks".

A barrage of incredibly fast and powerful kicks slammed into Yang, while she managed to dodge the first few she was eventually hit and after that could not stop being hit. Mei followed with a round house kick, but was interrupted when she saw a glint of metal in the corner of her eye.

She abandoned her attack and turned her attention to the object flying toward her, the object turned out to be her zanpaktou. Mei caught it out of the air, preventing it from killing her, only to be put on the defense by Yin's whip.

The blue twin let loose a volley of lightning that Mei dodged with swift acrobatic skill. The Arrancar cracked her whip again, catching Mei by the wrist. She then used her weapon to pull the shinigami in and deliver a knee to the stomach, followed by a shove right into her sister's fist.

"Damn," muttered Mei as she wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth,

"What's the matter Shinigami?" asked Yang sardonically,

"Are we too much for you?" asked Yin in an equally sardonic tone,

Mei did a very unlady like thing and flipped them the bird.

"Little bitch, we'll see how you handle this!" Yang swung her sword and launched another fireball, followed by Ying who launched twin balls of lightning.

The two attacks fused into one and headed straight for Mei.

The young shinigami's eye's widened, no way she would be able to escape that. It was too big and coming in too quickly. But even as the attack closed in on her, Mei suddenly felt something zip through her senses. A fluctuation of reiatsu, familiar reiatsu.

"Dad?"

"Do you feel that shinigami?" called Yang from a top,

"Go to your grave, knowing that the one you call father is dead!" delivered Yin,

When no response came, they knew that their opponent was gone. But as they turned to return to their master, they felt a small glimmer of life.

"**Spin: Amimono no naifu"**

A moment later, the massive electrically charged fireball exploded into hundreds upon hundreds of tiny cinders, covering the air like the aftermath of a firework. In the middle of the fiery rain, stood Mei.

"She survived? How?" asked Yin,

"You felt the increase in her reiatsu didn't you? She must have released her zanpaktou," replied Yang, "but I don't see it."

"It doesn't matter, we'll still crush her!"

All of a sudden, a dozen dark portals opened themselves around the twin Arrancar. From out of these portals, the monstrous beasts known as hollows appeared, their mouths salivating for a meal.

"Get her!" the twins commanded,

With a terrifying roar the beasts charged, intent on devouring the young girl to satiate their unending hunter. But Mei's face remained as emotionless as it had the entire battle, she stood before the tide and did not flinch.

Instead, she simply raised her left hand and gave a small flick of her wrist.

Almost immediately, half of the hollows came to an abrupt halt, their hunger induced charge impeded by some invisible force. Mei raised her other hand and performed the same gesture, the second half of the hollows stopped.

"What? What's going on?" asked Yin,

"why did they stop?" asked her sister,

As if to answer, Mei crossed her out stretched arms over chest, the moment she did every single hollow burst into a dozen bloody bits of gore.

Mei then turned her attention to her two original opponents.

The twin Arrancar stared at the young shinigami girl with the smallest hint of fear in their eyes. It was only then that they noticed the long and incredibly thin glints running off each of the girl's fingers like strings.

Without warning, Mei's right hand shot out. The glimmering strings followed, shooting out towards the Arrancar duo. The two immediately dodged to opposite sides in order to escape the deadly cascade.

Mei was there in a heartbeat, with the twins separated she could pick one to go after. She opted to go after Yin, as she advanced, her compliant strings stayed as a barrier between the twins.

When she was within range the young shinigami spun herself in a twirling motion while stretching out her left hand, creating a tornado of razor sharp wire.

The deadly glimmers closed in on the blue Arrancar, knowing she wouldn't be able to escape from the trap, Yin quickly transformed into a pair of twin electric orbs. The two orbs zigged and zagged through the ever enclosing tide of wire.

"You are not getting away," Mei growled adamantly, she balled her left hand into a fist and watched as her deadly wires enclosed themselves upon the twin balls like a cone shaped net.

Yin began to spin her form rapidly until to onlookers it looked as though she were a ring of lightning, the ring suddenly expanded itself, pushing away the deadly wires and leaving her unharmed. The Arrancar then reverted back to her humanoid form and cracked her whip at Mei.

Expecting this, Mei shot out her left hand and spun it in a circular motion. The wires attached to her fingers spun themselves into dozens of tight loops, as the whip lashed out those loops found their way around the weapon. In an instant, the rope like weapon became rigid as Mei's wires constricted it and left it useless.

"Get over here!" growled Mei as she yanked back on her wires,

Yin was immediately jerked towards the shinigami, unable to stop herself the Arrancar was powerless to stop her opponent from delivering a brutal punch to her nose followed by a violent kick to the stomach.

Mei released her wire's hold on the whip and planned to wrap them around Yin, unfortunately, Yang chose this moment to burst through her barrier as a massive fireball.

Thinking quickly, Mei clapped her hands together then spread them apart. The fire ball came down upon her but was abruptly stopped by the wire barrier held between her outstretched hands.

The fireball returned back to Yang's humanoid form, revealing that her sword had been caught in the wires. The young shinigami quickly jumped over the red Arrancar with her wires still attached to the blade, when she landed she placed her foot on Yang's back and began to pull.

Much to Yang's distress, the wires began to pull her own fiery blade towards her neck. With Mei's masterful manipulation, it was only a matter of seconds before the edge of it was resting against the skin.

Unfortunately Mei was interrupted when she herself was suddenly trapped. Yin's whip came cracking around her neck and jerked her away from Yang, severing the connection.

"Die already you little bitch!" demanded the blue Arrancar,

Not willing to choke to death, Mei threw out her right hand, sending a stream of wires that wrapped themselves around Yin's leg. She quickly jerked her hand forward, catching the Arrancar off guard and throwing her into an already dazed Yang, causing the whip to release its grip on her.

Taking advantage of the situation, Mei made her move.

She stretched out both of her palms and called upon her strongest kido spell,

"Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! Hado no.63: Raikoho!"

Yellow energy gathered into her palm and fired itself in a massive concentrated strike that blasted her two targets into the paved road bellow, a mushroom cloud of dust echoed out as her opponents became eternally silent.

By now, Mei was sore all over and her breaths came out in long heavy pants.

"Did I finally get them?" she asked herself,

The crater the two Arrancar lay in suddenly burst with reiatsu, Mei had to shield her eyes for fear that the intense light given off would blind her.

"What is this?" she asked aloud, "their reiatsu levels, they've jumped so high!"

( *(#%&#(&%) (#&%)( #&*%*()& #%)*&%() #&*%)&( #)%& )

Grimmjow quickly blocked as another barrage of slashes came at him, a geyser of sparks burst out from his zanpaktou as he was simultaneously pushed back.

Ever since Ichigo had released his bankai, it had been Grimmjow who'd been on the defensive. The bankai had enhanced all aspects of Ichigo's power, but most noticeably it had enhanced his speed the most.

While Grimmjow's reflexes had saved them up to this point, he could do nothing about hitting back. Every strike he threw out with his sword every cero he shot out was easily avoided. So busy was he with defending himself that he didn't notice that he was about to crash into a billboard until it had already happened.

"You're not half bad shinigami," smirked Grimmjow, "you might actually be worth my time!"

The Arrancar picked himself up and readied for the next attack. Ichigo went in head first, their blades smashed into one another, but it was Ichigo who was pushing Grimmjow through the air as the Arrancar attempted to hold his opponent back.

Grimmjow broke the lock and hacked at his opponent, Ichigo easily dodged, disappeared and reappeared to Grimmjow's side. The Espada quickly brought up his zanpaktou and blocked the heavy attack, then retaliated with his own which was dodged, followed up by a wide sweeping kick, also dodged.

Ichigo disappeared again, this time reappearing behind his opponent, but Grimmjow managed to spin away from his attack then retaliate with a barrage of his own.

"This isn't going to work," Ichigo whispered to himself, "time to change things up."

The Substitute shinigami began to run a tight circle around his opponent, speeding up his legs as he went, faster and faster, as fast as he could possibly go.

Grimmjow made no move to attack, for he didn't know where to attack. All around him, he saw only Ichigo, or rather he saw after images of the shinigami who was literally running circles around him. The kid was moving so fast that his mind couldn't keep up.

"What's the matter? Can't tell where I am?" mocked the Shinigami,

Grimmjow ground his teeth,

"Need me to slow down a little?"

"Fuck you!" growled the Arrancar, immediately he built up an orb of reiatsu into his left hand and stretched it out. He fired a brilliant red blast of energy and dragged it along the line of after images, causing them to vanish. If he couldn't catch the kid, he'd smoke him out.

He fired another cero, dragging its red beam across the line of after images.

Suddenly, Grimmjow realized his mistake. He'd fallen for attacking the after images, that he hadn't noticed his opponent moving into position. But by now it was too late, he turned his head just enough to see Ichigo drag his ebony katana across his chest.

Before Grimmjow could retaliate, Ichigo was already gone, leaving a large bloody horizontal slash on his chest.

"That's it you little brat! I'm gonna crush the life out of you!" Grimmjow brought his zanpaktou forward and placed his right hand on the blade. Gathering together his reiatsu, he yelled out, "Grind!"

Then clenched his fingers on his blade and dragged them back, "Pantera!"

A massive explosion of reiatsu flattened the building below them and spiraled upwards around where Grimmjow had stood. The column of smoke cleared, revealing Grimmjow's release.

Ichigo stared on wide eyed, he'd known that the Arrancar carried zanpaktou like he and the other shinigami and had suspected that they might be able to release their blades. But to actually witness it was another thing entirely.

The release hadn't just given Grimmjow a new weapon, it had given him an entirely new form. His shock blue hair was now considerably longer, he also now sprouted a cat like tail. His hands and feet were now armed with claws, his ears were now akin to a feline's, his teeth were sharpened, and what seemed to be a formfitting white suit was being worn.

The Espada let out a loud roar that sent gusts upon gusts of wind billowing towards Ichigo.

"What the hell? A shockwave?! He generates that much power just by screaming?"

Without warning, Grimmjow burst forward in at an incredibly speed that put him right in front of Ichigo within a fraction of a second. Ichigo only had enough time to slightly widen his eyes as Grimmjow performed a spinning kick that connected right with Ichigo's jaw and sent him flying across Karakura.

Before he could even try to recover, Grimmjow was there again, kicking him in the back and sending him up high.

"Damn it!" he growled,

That's when he saw Grimmjow a third time, this time the Espada hit him with a powerful drop kick that sent him spiraling down to the ground below.

( *%&) (#*&%)( *#%&)(#&*% *()#&%*) #&%) #&%) &#% )

Mei struggled to get up after she'd been mercilessly thrown to the ground.

A release form, the Arrancar had release forms.

"Had enough shinigami?"

Mei stood up and turned her head skyward to see the two Arrancar floating above her in their true forms.

The twin Arrancar's identicalness was followed even into their new forms. Both had a sort of edged helmet that covered the entire upper half of their heads, including their eyes, but had a hole in the back, letting out their different colored hair. Both also had white pauldrons of overlapping sheets of bone like material on their shoulders, as well as a form fitting smooth white sleeveless armor that covered the upper half of their torso like a suit. On their lower halves, they wore what looked like a short skirt made of numerous bones and white knee high boots.

Yin now held a whip made entirely of lightning while Yang held a sword made entirely of fire.

Both, Mei had learned, were extremely deadly.

"You're out of your league little girl," said Yang,

"It's time for you to say good night!" finished her sister,

Yin raised her free hand and began to gather together lightning, the energy eventually began to form into a pair of lightning balls, similar to her earlier transformation. She tossed the twin balls at Mei.

Mei quickly raised up both her hands, and spun both of them in a quick circular motion. The pair of lightning orbs stopped, Mei pulled back her hands then spun her body a full circle. The twin orbs followed her movements, when she returned back to facing her two foes, she released the twin orbs and sent them hurdling back to their owner.

Without waiting, Mei then thrust out her left hand.

As the two avoided the return attack, Yang suddenly felt the grip of the shinigami's wires on her legs. She snorted at the futility and attempted to fly into the air and pull her opponent with her. Strangely enough, the wires pulled back with impressive strength, so much that it actually stopped the Arrancar.

When she looked down, she saw that Mei had slapped her hand to the road. When she raised her hand back up, she revealed that the wires were now stuck firmly into the ground.

"Yin help!" called the red one, Yin immediately began to try.

Mei pulled back with her right hand, the twin orbs that the twins believed they'd dodged came flying back. Yin noticed too late, her own attack slammed into her, sending volts of electricity through her system and causing her to spiral to the ground.

Yang ground her teeth and summoned her fiery blade in an attempt to cut the wires herself. But when she raised her arm, she found she couldn't bring it back down. She looked up to see more wires wrapped around her wrist, Mei flew up and slapped her hand onto a nearby building, sticking the wires to its surface.

"Why you little-" Yang stretched up her only free arm and began to create a large ball of fire to blast at Mei. The young shinigami saw this coming and quickly began to move, Yang fired her attack but missed, she fired again but also missed.

Mei's hand shot out, stretching out her seemingly limitless amount of wire, with a quick twirl of her hand she wrapped it around Yang's last free limb, then attached her wire to another building, leaving the Arrancar completely helpless.

Mei clapped her hands together then brought them apart, string attached to both hands came out, forming a sort of garrote. But before she could use it upon her victim, something struck her in the back causing a stinging extreme amount of pain to shoot up her body.

She turned around to see Yin, recovered from being hit by her own attack.

Mei decided to change targets, she charged head first towards Yin. The Arrancar cracked her whip at the incoming shinigami, Mei rolled out of the way and kept going. Yin cracked her whip a second time but again missed.

By then Mei was upon her, the garrote spread to slice.

Yin quickly beat a retreat, not wanting to test her hierro against the wire. Mei missed her by the slimmest of margins as Yin flew up at the last moment.

However, as the Arrancar flew away, she suddenly felt a small tugging sensation on her ankle. She looked down and found that the shinigami had in fact managed to hook her by the foot.

Mei used all the strength in her lithe body and pulled down on the Arrancar, Yin was violently jerked back down and slammed into a building.

A small smirk creased onto the shinigami's lips, but that was quickly interrupted by a jolt of lightning traveling down the wire and into her body. Her limbs uncontrollably shook and her teeth ground against each other harshly.

As she was stunned by the current of electricity coursing through her body, she was struck by a pair of lightning orbs. They detonated against her body and sent her tumbling across the pavement.

Suddenly a wave of heat washed over her, she looked up and saw that Yang was burning through the wire trapping her with copious amounts of fire. It wasn't long before the wire melted away, leaving Yang free to move.

Mei attempted to rise, but was abruptly jerked up. Something had wrapped itself around her wrist, most likely Yin's whip and was now pulling her into the air.

By now her body had taken a large beating, as such when she attempted to move her body it protested with pain.

Yang gathered a great ball of fire between her hands and looked towards Mei.

"Any last words"

Mei had none, her only regret was losing to these two and letting down her father.

"Good bye, Shinigami"

Yang drew back her hand and…went flying!

It had happened so fast, that Mei hadn't blind and still missed it! All she did see were the after effects, and that was Yang being ploughed into the ground, creating a massive gouge through the road.

"Yang!" called out her sister,

The Blue one was suddenly sent fling high into the air by a blur of purple, then sent right back down by the same blur, creating a large crater in the road and landing right next to her sister.

Mei was subsequently released, though her battered body began slowly drifting down to the ground without her consent. She was quickly caught by her rescuer,

"Easy kid, easy, you've had a rough night," said a familiar voice,

Mei looked up into the warming golden gaze of Yoruichi.

The moment was suddenly shattered, as both twins suddenly appeared behind them, their weapons held high and ready to destroy their opponents.

"Fools"

In a single moment, both Yin and Yang were taken apart by a hundred blows.

Yoruichi stood up with Mei in her arms as though she'd never even moved from the spot.

"You'll both need a thousand years before you can play with me,"

( *(%&()#* &% ()#&*%)(*& #)%*&( #&%)(&)#(&% )(&*%) #)

The fight between Ichigo and Grimmjow had taken a turn, now it was Ichigo who was constantly on the defensive. Grimmjow's release form was simply proving to be too much for him to be able to handle.

While he definitely was holding his own, Grimmjow was still picking him apart at the Arrancar's leisure.

Grimmjow brought a clawed hand down on Ichigo who blocked it with Tensa Zangetsu, only to be kicked in the ribs and sent spinning down into the ground.

Ichigo's body hit the road with enough power to create a huge crater, the Espada pounced down on the shinigami like a great cat and raised his clawed hands to make the kill.

The Shinigami quickly rolled out of the way and let Grimmjow's hand slice into the asphalt. But as he tried to get away, Grimmjow grabbed him by the back of his clothing and tossed him over the shoulder and onto the ground again.

The Substitute shinigami tumbled across the road, tearing up the pavement and knocking over cars as a large cloud of dust followed him. When he stopped, he shakily rose to his feet in an attempt to stand.

"Is that all?" asked Grimmjow from above, standing arrogantly, "I take it back, you're not worth my time at all. You're a total disappointment."

Ichigo looked back defiantly; he drew back his black katana and poured his power into the blade.

"**Getsuga"**

Black reiatsu with a tint of red surrounded Tensa Zangetsu,

"**Tensho!"**

A swirl of dark power slammed into the Espada as Ichigo let it loose by swinging his blade. For a brief moment, the night sky was bathed in black light. Then, as quickly as it had come, it disappeared.

Ichigo panted heavily from the exhertion, he'd never tried using a Getsuga Tensho while in bankai, but he'd seen his hollow do it before. He'd simply recalled how the hollow had performed and applied it here, it just happened to work out.

As the smoke cleared, it revealed that Grimmjow was still standing, the Espada had apparently thrown up his arms in an attempt to block. It had not gone well, both of his forearms were now horribly burned.

"Argh, maggot," growled the Espada, "where'd that come from?"

"Am I still disappointing you?" Ichigo asked smugly, "maybe you need to feel it again to make up your mind."

Grimmjow smirked, with a buzz of sonido he was suddenly in front of Ichigo and quickly delivered back hand that sent Ichigo tumbling away into a cross section.

"I've gotta admit, that attack hurt pretty bad, if it hadn't blocked I would've gotten hurt badly," said Grimmjow as he walked towards his opponent, "but it doesn't matter anymore, I'll kill you here and now."

Ichigo attempted to shakily stand back up,

"Still trying?" asked Grimmjow, a bit surprised, "haven't you got it through that head of ours, you can't win."

But Ichigo's resolve would not be shaken, no, he glared back defiant. Ready to fight till all the life had fled from his broken body, only then would he stop.

Grimmjow clearly didn't like the look Ichigo was giving him, raising his clawed hands, he prepared to finish it.

"Ichigo!"

A sudden blast of cold followed by an avalanche of ice and snow came down from the adjacent street, when it cleared, the entire street had been flash frozen, along with Grimmjow who was now trapped in a massive hunk of ice.

"Ichigo!" called the voice again,

Ichigo turned to see Rukia coming down the street, her zanpaktou in hand.

"Rukia? How, did you win your fight?"

"You idiot, of course I did, why do you think I'm here?"

"Well it's just that…"

"Never mind that now," she said, placing a hand on his cheek, "look at you, all banged up. What would you do if I weren't around to-"

The sound of cracking ice suddenly interrupted their reunion. Both shinigami turned to see the prison holding Grimmjow, slowly breaking part.

"Rukia run!" screamed Ichigo,

"Fool, I can't-"

The ice shattered, freeing its occupant. With a subtle buzz, Grimmjow disappeared.

"Rukia run!"

Too late, Grimmjow already had the female Shinigami by the neck.

"Rukia no!" Ichigo raised himself up, ignoring any pain he felt and prepared to charge. But before he could, his body suddenly froze. Some sort of unexplainable paralysis fell upon him, but he soon realized what was happening.

From the corner of his eye, he slowly felt it happening. His hollow was attempting to take control, the vision in his left eye was slowly blotting out.

"_Come on, you want to save her don't you? Let me out, I'll kill him!"_

"Go away, I don't need you," he replied mentally as he tried to break out of its hold,

Before the hollow could reply, Grimmjow sunk his clawed hand through Rukia's body, then tossed her aside.

"Now that that interruption is dealt with, where were we?" asked Grimmjow, "oh, right"

Once again he raised his claws for the killing blow, had it come Ichigo would have been torn to shreds. But it didn't, as Grimmjow pounced he was suddenly blasted back by a powerful bolt of lightning.

"Son of a…who did that?"

A familiar pair of men landed by Ichigo, he immediately recognized them as Kuroda's subordinates: Rajin and Kaito.

"What's with all these guys coming out and interrupting, you can die next, but let me-"

A figure suddenly appeared behind the Sexta Espada and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Stay your hand Grimmjow,"

"Tosen!"

"It's him," whispered Rajin,

"well it's not Bob Marley," quipped Kaito,

"What the hell are you doing here?" growled Grimmjow, though he followed the order,

"What am I doing here? I believe that is a question for you, interrupting Tyran's mission, invading without orders, bringing your fraccion and getting them killed. Lord Aizen is furious Grimmjow, I am here to see that you return immediately," Tosen tapped the air, it unfolded to his will and created a black portal, "come, we must leave. Your punishment shall be decided in Hueco Mundo"

"Tch, fine," muttered the Arrancar, releasing his form and sheathing his sword, then following the traitor shinigami.

"Wait!" called Ichigo,

"Quiet down idiot," growled Kaito, "you're in no shape to continue fighting."

"You've got to be kidding me! We can't just-"

Ichigo was interrupted as he was suddenly knocked unconscious from a sharp strike Rajin delivered to his neck. Kaito quickly caught him up, having already picked up Rukia on his shoulder, "I'll take them to get attention."

"Alright,"

"What about you?"

"I'll make a sweep of the town make sure there aren't any more,"

"Shouldn't we check on the Commander?"

"I'm sure he's fine"

( *&%()#*&% )(#&*%) (*#&%)( #&%)( #&%)&*( #%)*& #)&%)

Kuroda slammed AnShen into Tyran's chest and dragged the red blade across the Arrancar's chest. Spark's burst out from the contact as though AnShen were being dragged against another piece of metal but no blood came out to feed its hunger.

Tyran's face no longer held a smirk, instead it held a clear look of annoyance.

Kuroda ground his teeth

No! This was not happening, he could cut through if he just tried! Taking a deep breath, he charged forward and thrust out AnShen, the tip of the blade met with the center of Tyran's chest, but went no further.

Kuroda pressed with all his might but it felt as though he were struggling against a mountain.

Worse, Tyran simply stood there and took it as though nothing were happening.

Fearing retaliation, Kuroda quickly jumped back and swung his weapon,

"**Shino Kabe!"**

A deadly wall of wailing dead crashed down on Tyran, a moment later, it simply burst apart, leaving the target completely unharmed.

Kuroda's grip around AnShen tightened with frustration, he hadn't felt this powerless against an enemy since…since Yamamoto. He'd gone as far as his sanity allowed with his power, already he'd released the first of his bands, releasing the second would definitely provide him a chance, but he would not give into that mad man that bore his face.

"Hey!" yelled Tyran, pulling him from his thoughts, "Stop screwing around! Try to actually kill me already! I'm not weak you know! I can take it, whatever you've got, I can take it!"

Kuroda bit his lower lip,

"And stop ruining my clothes!"

That tore it!

Kuroda raised AnShen and bellowed, **"Ban-Kai!"**

A swirl of red power and wailing souls engulfed Kuroda, spiraling around him and ascending to the heavens. When it finally dissipated, it revealed him in his Bankai form.

Though Kuroda was not a prideful man, he would by lying if he said that he didn't feel some amount of embarrassment from releasing his Bankai when his opponent hadn't even made some sort of release of their own. But that mattered little in the end when this Arrancar would be gagging on his own blood with AnShen skewering his body.

"Releasing Bankai already, don't you want to warm up? Maybe go at it a few rounds without-"

Kuroda was suddenly in front of Tyran, the Arrancar hadn't expected such a jump in speed. But for some reason, perhaps due to reflex, or perhaps because he sensed Kuroda's new power, he threw himself back to avoid the blade cleaving through the air towards him.

The blade passed and Kuroda went with it.

Tyran turned to face his opponent, wide eyed and startled. Then, something brought him out of shock, a small wet stinging sensation on his cheek. He reached up and touched something liquid like, he brought his fingers to his eyes and saw red. Blood.

His face was now decorated with a thin cut across his left cheek. Now, he could smile.

"Well, there we go!" he bellowed, "that's much better!"

But Tyran still felt a small amount of disappointment, he could tell that Kuroda's power was still not even close to what it had been when they'd first met. But for now, this would do, perhaps as they fought the shinigami would reveal more.

Tyran was the first to charge, Kuroda dug in his heels and held his ground. The two slammed each other with Kuroda skidding back through the air as Tyran pushed him back. The shinigami masterfully pushed their blades to side then lashed out with a left handed back hand.

Tyran accepted the blow and returned it with a powerful punch to Kuroda's gut. The wind was knocked out from the shinigami along with a large glob blood, but he fought through the pain. Calling upon the power of his bankai, twin snakes sprouted from his back and bared their razor sharp teeth.

"What the-"

Kuroda mentally commanded them to lash out, they did exactly that, one latched onto Tyran's shoulder while the other sunk into his collar bone. Tyran grimaced but then reached up and tore both of them out of Kuroda's shoulder, big mistake.

With another mental command, the snakes melted into the acid like material of the dead. Tyran quickly shook the stuff of before it could burn into him too far.

He turned to Kuroda and smirked, "what else you got?"

Kuroda's answer:

"**Shino Kabe"**

He swung AnShen and let loose a wave of undead cavalry that charged towards their target upon their skeletal steeds, with the wails of a thousand dying men as the horn to signal their attack. Tyran's eyes widened ever so slightly, even with his massive power, he had to feel a small shiver go down his spine at the ghastly appearance of the attack. But even so, he met the charge head on, slamming his weapon down on it.

The Arrancar struggled with the cavalry for a brief second, but it was enough to distract him from the small bulge forming out of the wave. The small bulge soon began to take the form of a man, the form of a man began to create for itself arms.

Kuroda burst out from the attack with AnShen raised, he'd been fully aware that the attack might not have been enough, so he instilled a bit of insurance.

Tyran noticed too late, AnShen was already in full swing. The moment the cavalry failed with their charge and exploded, the red blade cut across Tyran's chest.

The Cero Espada burst out from the cover of smoke, his body now adorning a new wound.

"Damn man, you tricky," he remarked,

The smoke cleared, showing Kuroda, not in the least bit amused, though he did find satisfaction from drawing blood. The wound however, was not especially deep, he noted that it was more like an extremely large scratch than an actual wound.

"Guess I better start taking you a bit more seriously," decided the Espada,

Kuroda's response was to coat AnShen with the acidic material of the dead, swing his blade and fling the stuff at Tyran like a massive face of acid.

Tyran returned the attack with a quick cero, the two attack canceled each other out, resulting in a huge plume of smoke.

Kuroda used shunpo, Tyran used sonido, the two met in the cloud of smoke and slammed their blades together. The resulting force brushed the smoke away like a might gust of wind.

Kuroda broke the lock and called upon a shot of acidic souls to blast at Tyran's face. The Espada immediately dodged, but at the same time Kuroda leapt above his opponent, landing behind Tyran and striking out.

But the Arrancar quickly whipped around and parried, then riposted with diagonal downward slash that nearly caught Kuroda on the shoulder. The shinigami sidestepped, spun and swung his blade in a low strike aimed for Tyran's gut. The Espada amazingly blocked, locking AnShen with his zanpaktou's tsuba. With a roll of his shoulders, he moved AnShen up high, broke the lock the jabbed down with the butt of his handle, catching Kuroda in the stomach.

The Black operative coughed up another glob of blood as he stumble away. Before he could recover, Tyran was upon him, a cero held up to the shinigami's face. With lightning speed, Kuroda grabbed the outstretched hand by the wrist and pushed it to the side.

His face flushed with heat as the cero fired, bathing both of them in a dark purple light. Kuroda began to thrust AnShen forward, planning to skewer Tyran through the rips while he had a lock on the Arrancar's wrist, but was interrupted Tyran brought up his left foot and delivered a powerful kick to Kuroda's back, forcing him to let go of the Espada's wrist.

Tyran followed up with a quick slash, Kuroda threw himself back but was still caught regardless. A thin red line cut down his cheek to his jaw.

"Come on now! Show me more!" demanded Tyran as he burst towards Kuroda like a rocket,

Kuroda's eyes widened, in an almost panicked voice, he yelled out,

"**daiichi no dankai: shipan!"**

The dead smothered around him again, giving him a pair of red wings. Almost immediately he wrapped them around himself like a shield, just in time for Tyran to ram into him and send him barreling out of the sky.

Like a bird, Kuroda stretched out his wings, causing him to realign. But almost immediately he could saw Tyran dropping down after him with the intent to shred him to pieces.

Gathering up his power, Kuroda called out,

"**Shinen no iki mono!"**

A massive glob of dead began to circle together next to him, soon the glob began to take on the familiar shape of one of his serpents except much, much, larger. The creature of the Abyss with its horrible glowing eyes and massive sharp teeth snaked its way up towards Tyran, opening its massive maw to engulf the much smaller Arrancar.

Tyran flew right into the creature's throat, a moment later, the creature exploded in a bright purple explosion that literally tore it to pieces. From out of the carnage, Tyran came flying out, aiming right for Kuroda.

Kuroda quickly raised up his sword and swung it down,

"**Shibou Ryuu Dikei!" **

A massive missile with four eyes, a face shaped like the bow of ship and overlapping rows of razor sharp teeth was fired at Tyran. The Espada sneered, believing that he could simply crash into it with no ill consequences.

However, it was not so. The moment he crashed into it, it smothered him with burning liquid that bit through his hierro and ate into his flesh.

With a quick burst of reiatsu, the liquid was easily scattered.

In came Kuroda, swinging AnShen for Tyran's neck. The Espada deflected the attack down that caused Kuroda to lean down. Tyran brought up his foot with a high kick to Kuroda's exposed head, causing the shinigami to stagger. Tyran then turned himself 180 degrees and performed a back kick that sent Kuroda tumbling through the air uncontrollably.

He spread his wings, recovering from the blow. His vision was starting become hazy, most likely from blood loss and the pure amount of pain he was feeling.

"Need a break?"

Kuroda looked up to see Tyran standing calmly in front of him. Without warning he lashed out with his weapon, Tyran easily dodged.

Kuroda slashed at the Arrancar wildly, all technique abandoned for a wild berserk frenzy. Tyran was taken a back at first as he blocked the flurry of attacks.

The shinigami managed to score a hit when he suddenly disappeared with shunpo, reappeared behind Tyran and sliced the Arrancar across the back.

Tyran retaliated another back kick. Kuroda side stepped and grabbed the Arrancar by the ankle, he then attempted to get in another hit but Tyran used him to his advantage. Balancing himself with Kuroda's lock, he lifted himself up and kicked Kuroda in the side of the head.

Staggard, Kuroda could do nothing as Tyran broke out of the lock and slipped his blade between Kuroda's ribs.

Never before had he felt so…weak, so powerless. Something wrapped around his neck, a hand. He was hoisted up, unable to do anything about it.

"what's the matter with you?" asked Tyran, "no way you were this weak when we first met, I felt your power, I know you're better than this."

Kuroda didn't respond, or rather he couldn't.

Tyran took a long moment to stare into the shinigami's eyes. In that instance, a sort of story was told between the two individuals, who were so similar yet so different.

"I see now," said Tyran, voice dripping with disgust, "I see what's wrong now."

"I was wrong, you and I aren't all that alike at all. We're both kin slayers, both murders, warriors bathed in blood and tempered in the heat of battle. We've both looked into that abyss, but you flinched, you turned away from it. You felt disgusted didn't you, you rejected the power it offered."

Kuroda was silent,

"Why?!" demanded the Arrancar, "We took the necessary steps! We did what anyone who wanted to be top dog should have done. We showed the world what we were willing to do and it offered us the strength to rule over everyone who didn't. We proved ourselves! Why did you resist?! Why do you still resist?! Survival of the fittest, those who are powerful rule, does that mean anything to you?"

This time, Kuroda did respond,

"What?"

He spoke louder, "we don't, deserve, to rule"

A look of pure disgust crossed Tyran's face.

Twin buzzes interrupted whatever he was about to say.

"Lord Tyran," said a battered Yin,

"What the hell happened to you two?"

"I'm sorry my lord," apologized Yang, "but they were too much for us."

"Doesn't matter, we're leaving," said Tyran, he then turned to the man in his hands, "we'll fight again, when you embrace what you are."

With that said, Tyran released his grip and let Kuroda fall.

Kuroda however, didn't realize he was falling. His mind was too far into a daze, but he had heard everything Tyran had said and it troubled his mind. Was he weak, because he turned away? Was this why he was the one falling now?

The wings of his bankai began to break away as though he were a fallen god.

His body struck the road, shattering the asphalt and leaving a sizeable crater. He lay there limply, unable to move, or perhaps unwilling.

The world began to go dark, were his eyes closing or was he dying?

The last thing he heard before he lost conscious, was his name.

"Kuroda!"

**End**

**A/N**

**Hey guys, wow, sorry for such a long wait I realize it has been a month since the last update but I've been working on my other story and guess what? I finished it!**

**So school is starting back up and updates will most likely slow to a crawl, sorry.**

**But I do hope you enjoyed the chapter, the whole thing was pretty much one big fight.**

**I'd really appreciate it if you went to my profile and participated in a poll that I've put up.**

**Anyway, please review, favorite, subscribe, and share with your friends!**

**OC submissions are still open for Arrancar!**

**Bye bye!**


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

The Madness and Darkness

Pain

Agony

Despair

That's what Kuroda felt, though by now in his life he'd felt so much of all three that the feelings were more like familiar friends than unwelcomed guests.

He remembered a fight, a terrible fight.

He'd lost

The words stung him. Kuroda was not a stranger to losing a fight, before gaining his immense power he'd lost plenty. He never won a fight against his father, the old man had always kicked him around like a doll. He'd never won against a Yamamoto either, though he'd only ever fought the man on three occasions.

No, what stung him was the pure helplessness that fighting that Arrancar, Tyran, had brought upon him. In the beginning of the fight, it felt that he had a chance. Tyran seemed slower, Kuroda's blows seemed to do more. But in the end, he found out that the Arrancar was just warming up, just testing him out.

If Tyran had wanted to, he could have killed Kuroda in a fraction of the time they'd been fighting. The only reason he hadn't was because he'd believed that Kuroda was simply holding back.

It didn't matter, Kuroda had still lost in the end.

Now he was…what was he doing?

Lying down on something, quite hard, he could also pick up the smell of stale dust, and he could hear a low wind whistling around him.

Kuroda gradually edged his eyes open to a horrifying sight. The sky was definitely not the one above Karakura, it wasn't peaceful, or full of stars.

This one was dark and hellish. Right in the center of Kuroda's vision was some sort of horrible twisting vortex of fire hanging high up. It seemed to pull in what few dusty clouds were in the air and swallow them up to fuel its horrifying appearance.

However, the sight was very familiar to Kuroda.

He pushed his aching body up into a sitting position and took in a quick glance of his settings, confirming what he believed.

He was surrounded by hundreds of thousands of graves, marked by a variety of different objects. Tomb stones, crosses, flowers, even sticks, just graves as far as the eye could see, creating an endless graveyard. It wasn't a nice graveyard either, the ground was grey and barren, lacking any sort of ability to support life. The wind that blew around the graves sounded eerily akin to the wails of ghosts or spirits.

Kuroda knew that if someone were to stay there long enough, they would feel as though they were the only person on the planet, somehow cursed with a prolonged life. He himself had tried walking in one direction to see if he could find the edge of the graveyard, of course, he never found it.

This was his inner world, where his zanpaktou resided.

"Hello Kuroda,"

Speak of the devil

AnShen slipped around into Kuroda's field of vision, his hat tipped down despite the shadows already hiding his face and his large red cloak billowing on the low wind.

"It's been a long time since you've entered my realm," the spirit said, holding out a gloved hand to Kuroda. Kuroda took the hand and let AnShen help pull him up.

"I wasn't exactly trying to come," admitted Kuroda, "it just happened."

"Indeed, this has not happened for at least a century,"

"What?"

"Your defeat,"

"Oh, that," said Kuroda, turning his gaze to the ground, "yeah, so what are you doing here?"

"I live here, or did you forget?" replied the spirit as he walked around a grave, "just, roaming the world, from here to there and there to here. Not much else to do but, walk."

Kuroda was silent,

"Well walk and," AnShen touched a grave stone, almost immediately the grave that it marked began to glow a dark red. Before long a wisp burst out from the ground, it followed the path of AnShen's hand. He brought his hand to his face and the wisp was sucked into an invisible mouth.

"And eat," finished the spirit, his shoulders shuddered like someone in ecstasy, "mm, that was a particularly young one."

Kuroda cringed slightly, even he, after so many years, was put off by the zanpaktou's clear disregard for human life. If AnShen liked someone, or missed someone, it usually meant that he wanted their soul in particular to be added to this massive graveyard.

"So if you didn't pull me in here, then who did?" asked Kuroda,

"Hmm, who indeed?" asked AnShen, tapping a finger to its nonexistent chin, "who do you think?"

The question hung out for a long moment, both knew the answer but neither wanted to say. Finally, Kuroda broke the silence and whispered the answer, "him"

"Indeed," drawled the spirit,

"I thought I locked him up tight, behind the third seal. He shouldn't even be able to speak to me, let alone pull me into my inner world,"

"The seals are weakening, it was only a matter of time really and his grip is growing stronger, soon either the seals will break themselves or he'll break them,"

"How much time?" asked Kuroda,

"Who knows? I don't"

"He still shouldn't have been able to reach me, it's not just his barrier that's holding him back, the second one holds him as well,"

"Perhaps, but maybe he didn't need to reach you personally,"

"What are you talking about,"

The spirit shrugged his shoulders, "He, is a smart fellow, he should since he's you."

"He is not, me!" corrected Kuroda,

"Of course not, I am simply saying, perhaps he found a way around the second seal that did not require his personal touch."

Kuroda raised an eyebrow, he was almost certain AnShen knew the answer but was simply unwilling to share it, which meant that Kuroda would probably never get him to talk.

"You humans, such interesting creatures," whispered the spirit as he began to walk away, most likely to continue wandering around, "and such wonderful snacks. Do let me know how it turns out between you two."

Kuroda sighed as he watched the red cloak slowly get smaller and smaller,

"Great," he muttered, "stuck in my inner world, with a mad spirit and a-"

"**A what?"**

Kuroda nearly jumped, the one behind him had snuck up without a single sound. It would seem that his own skills were being put to good use.

Slowly, he turned around and to face, himself.

It was almost like looking in the mirror, every strand of hair, every pore, ever part of his face was replicated onto the one in front of him, right down to the strands of DNA. But this one, this copy of him, was indeed different.

Where Kuroda kept his hair in relatively good condition and made sure to clean himself, this other one was not as well off. Blotches of dried blood and dirt caked his face, his hair was longer, messier, and seemed a bit stringy.

Then there were those eyes, red like Kuroda's, but containing unspeakable amounts of madness. One needed but one glance into those horrible red orbs to know what sort of crazy this man was.

"**What's up?"** asked his clone,

Kuroda didn't respond,

"**Don't like getting snuck up on do you? To be honest, I'm a little surprised myself, I wasn't sure I could do it, with these on me,"** Kuroda's clone put out his hands, revealing the cuffs that kept them tied together.

In fact, the clone's entire body was covered in restraints. Both legs were restrained by large metal chains connected to large rusting balls of iron. In addition to that, a pair of leg cuffs kept the man from spreading his legs too far apart. Then there was the huge metal collar around his neck, with a chain running off. However, the end of that chain seemed to be broken off of whatever had initially been attached to it.

"Why am I here?" asked Kuroda,

"**Well, you never call, you never write, how else am I supposed to get your attention?"** mocked the clone, **"after all, family really should stick together."**

Kuroda flinched, not just at the words, but the sound of his clone's voice. It sounded exactly like his own, only the clone's voice seemed to dance on the edge of a knife, it sounded so cheery in a sort of malevolent kind of way.

The clone began to walk, dragging those large iron balls, circling around Kuroda like a predator does its prey.

Kuroda swallowed

"We are not family," he managed to say,

"**You're right,"** agreed the clone, stopping his stride for a brief moment, **"we are so much…closer."**

"No we're not, in fact we should be as far apart as humanly possible"

"**Oh you say that, but with each passing moment, we become more and more…attuned to each other,"** the clone said knowingly**, "you thought you could keep me away with your little seals, you thought that those could last. But there is a reckoning coming Kuroda. When it does, you'll wonder how you could believe you had peace and happiness and simply leave me and the other to rot in your mind."**

"You'll be in those chains for as long as I want," Kuroda shot back,

"**Oh will I?"** asked the clone in mock surprise, as he continued to circle **"If I recall correctly, the last time we spoke, I had my neck chained to a concrete slab. Where is it now I wonder?"**

"You and I, will never be one," growled Kuroda,

"**Oh that's where you're wrong,"** replied his clone, **"you and I are the same, we are already one. This current state of affairs is simply, a temporary break. Sooner or later, we will be one. Did you really think that hiding behind those seals could keep us apart forever? No, I think you knew, you simply lied to yourself and said that it would."**

Kuroda didn't respond,

"**Is that why you secretly placed that cheap leather arm band around your arm? It didn't even have any real power, you just picked it up in some clothing store and tied it there like you thought it would magically solve your problems. Did it make you feel secure, having three bands around your arm again even though you knew that one was actually a fake?"**

"Go hang yourself"

"**Oh I think I've already tried that, it didn't work, the rope snapped. I tried something else recently, it involved a cliff and a very sad yet beautiful girl,"** replied the clone, **"you know, I really hat how you keep pushing her away when it would be so easy to give in and take her."**

"You bastard, don't you dare-"

"**Oooh, jealous are we?"**

Without warning Kuroda's hand grabbed his clone by the neck and squeezed. But the clone seemed to feel nothing, in fact he retaliated with a simple shoulder bump that sent Kuroda to the floor like a small child.

"**Even contained, I'm still more powerful than you. Think what will happen when I get out"**

"That will never happen," said Kuroda as he stood back up,

"**Yes it will, don't try to resist. You think you know pain, but if you try to stop me," **the clone began to circle again, Kuroda's heart beat began pick up in response

"**If you try to push me back down,"** sweat dripped down his forehead

"**If you try to find any way of stopping me. You will beg, to feel something as sweet as pain."**

By now Kuroda was completely paralyzed, a cold grip on his spine refusing to let him go.

"**And look at it this way,"** the clone stopped in front of Kuroda's gaze,

"**Better me, than him,"** the clone nodded his head, Kuroda 's eyes followed.

They rested upon a large stone structure, a mausoleum, with it being the largest building in the graveyard it stuck out as much as AnShen's blood red coat. Twin angels on the roof, kneeled in terror, their cherubic faces forever etched into terror as they gazed upon those who would enter the open door.

Kuroda looked straight into the black open void that allowed entry into the structure. Almost immediately, he could feel the dark being inside. That cold twisted individual that resided in there, contained as a prisoner, but somehow he reached out to Kuroda.

He heard the prisoner's voice,

"_We will be one"_

(* #%()%&() #&*%()* #& %()&%() &#%)(*& #%)( #&%)( #%&)

"No!" Kuroda sprang up, eyes wide with fear and body covered in cold sweat. His breaths came in heavy pants, each one empty his lungs completely or filling them to the brim. Inside of his chest, his heart beat like a drum, so fast that Kuroda almost feared that it would break out.

"Kuroda," said a familiar voice, though he did not turn to face it he knew it was Yoruichi, "Kuroda, it's alright, I'm here"

She grabbed his hand and comfortingly stroked it, "it's okay, it's okay, you're alright."

Kuroda let out another heavy breath as he tried to calm himself down. His eyes darted around with paranoia, until he realized where he was.

The familiar bamboo flooring, the plain yet large room around him, he was at Kisuke's shop. He'd been laid down on a futon and saw others lined up by his, three to be exact. Two were empty, the other one, the one farthest from him was occupied.

Under the covers of a blanket, his daughter lay with her eyes closed.

"Mei!"

"It's okay, she's fine,"assured Yoruichi, "she's wasn't hurt too bad, you on the other hand…"

As Yoruichi trailer off, Kuroda finally noticed the bright orange dome around him. It seemed to give off a kind of soothing feeling that calmed his nerves. Next to Yoruichi he saw the source of the orange dome, Orihime.

"Orihime has been working pretty hard to patch you up," said Yoruichi, "I didn't think it was possible to break that many bones and still stay alive."

Kuroda was silent

"There, all done," announced Orihime, she called back her small fairies and the orange dome around Kuroda disappeared.

"Thank you Orihime, you can go now,"

"Alright Yoruichi, good bye Kuroda,"

Kuroda didn't return the good bye, he simply sat there, looking into his lap. When the door shut closed and Orihime had left, Yoruichi turned her attention back to him.

"You gave me quite a scare, I was afraid that I'd have to start staying at Kisuke's if you died,"

She was trying to lighten the mood, make him laugh with a joke or two, keep the subject off of his defeat. He appreciated it, though part of him did want to talk about it and part of him didn't want her trying to lighten the mood.

Yoruichi seemed to notice that her attempt to lighten the mood was not working, Kuroda just kept staring down into his lap.

"I suppose we should go home now," she tried,

Kuroda simply nodded and stood up,

"I'll grab Mei," she offered, picking up the lithe sleeping girl into her arms,

Kuroda went to the door without responding and opened it to find two people waiting for him.

"Up already? You are tough," joked Kisuke,

Kuroda didn't react, he simply stared back blankly.

"Uh…well, Ichigo here has something to talk to you about," said Kisuke, he'd half expected some angry remark from Kuroda, not ominous silence.

Kuroda nodded, noting that Ichigo was standing behind the blonde man in Shinigami form. There was a certain look in the young Substitute's eyes, like something was weighing down on him, like he felt guilty and responsible for a travesty. Kuroda knew that look, because he had felt it as well, many times.

He turned to Yoruichi "Go wait outside, I won't be long"

She nodded and walked out with Mei still cradled in her arms.

"I'll wait out here for my turn, but you two take your time," said Kisuke before closing the door,

Kuroda sat down on his futon and Ichigo sat down in front of him,

"What do you need?" asked Kuroda,

A long pause held in the air, then Ichigo finally said, "It happened again."

"Your hollow"

Ichigo nodded grimly, "that bastard tried to take over again, I was fighting this Arrancar and I was losing. Then Rukia came and tried to help me, he grabbed her by the neck and was going to kill her. I wanted to help but…"

"Did he take over?"

"No, no he didn't," replied Ichigo, "but he tried and when he did I was, paralyzed. I couldn't move, I couldn't do anything, I could only watch that bastard punch a hole through my friend."

By now the teen's voice bordered on crying,

"So what are you going to do about it? Get stronger so that you don't need to fear your hollow anymore?" it was a low blow, but even now Kuroda needed to drive the weight of Ichigo's refusal for help home. He would need the hate soon enough.

"No, no, it's clear that won't work. You were right all along, this isn't something that I can handle on my own. I need help, right now. Can you contact the Vizard for me?"

Kuroda nodded, "I will, I'll pick you up tomorrow, you'll start first thing in the morning."

Ichigo nodded back, not even caring that tomorrow was a school day, "Thank you,"

The Substitute stood up and began to walk to the door but stopped just before exiting, "you lost today, didn't you?"

Kuroda felt a jolt of anger run through his heart, but he pushed it back down and simply replied, "Yes,"

"How?"

By now, Ichigo knew that Kuroda was one of the most powerful beings in existence. Ever since he had witnessed Kuroda taking on Captain Komamura's bankai for afar, he'd seen the Black Operative as some sort of invincible warrior. But now, to see Kuroda defeated, was something both demoralizing and frightening.

"Let's just say, I have problems of my own,"

Ichigo decided to leave it there, he opened the door and left. Kisuke came in soon after and shut the door behind him.

"He's going to the Vizard?"

Kuroda grunted in reply.

"I suppose it was only a matter of time, though I'm a bit surprised he didn't ask me for help first," said Kisuke as he sat down,

"He's smart enough to know that you already know his condition, and that if you did know how to help him, you would've already,"

Kisuke smiled, "I suppose"

"What did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to talk about you and your fight,"

Kuroda paused, "what about it? I lost, not much more than that."

"It's because you lost that I'm worried, your condition isn't that much different from Ichigo's. I need to know Kuroda, are my seals still working?"

Kuroda sighed heavily, then shook his head. "No, they're breaking loose, both of them."

"That was what I was afraid of," Kisuke said grimly, "I suppose it was only a matter of time, technology can only fight nature for so long before nature finds a way to win."

"It's not your fault my friend. It's mine, I'm the one who walked into the darkness, I'm the one who accepted the power it gave me, but I'm also the one who tried to slip through the consequences. This is on me, not you,"

Kisuke didn't say anything, he was taking this harder than he showed. In his mind, every problem could be solved with the right kind of technology, he'd always relied on his inventions to give him an edge in life. He'd even used inventions to help his own power progress, using it to achieve bankai.

But now, he'd learned that one of his inventions could not help him with something. Worse, the one time his inventions did fail him, it had also failed his closest friend.

"I'll find a way to fix this, no matter what" assured Kuroda,

"That's what I'm afraid of" whispered Kisuke, he knew that no matter what would involve death.

Kuroda stood up and began to walk away,

"You should spend some time with Yoruichi," he heard Kisuke say, Kuroda stopped himself

"You never know what might happen," explained the blonde man, "don't want to go down with regrets still in your life."

Without bothering to respond, Kuroda opened the door and left.

When he got outside, in his gigai, he saw that his limo was already parked out in front with Kaito holding the door open for him and Rajin already in the driver's seat.

No words were exchanged between the three, Kuroda simply entered the vehicle. Kaito closed the door for him and entered into the passenger seat next to Rajin.

Yoruichi was already inside as well with Mei soundly sleeping against her shoulder.

"How is she?" asked Kuroda,

"She's fine," replied Yoruichi, "you should have seen her Kuroda, she took on two Arrancar all by herself. She held her own even when they released their zanpaktou."

Kuroda didn't say anything, Yoruichi frowned, she had hoped for some sort of response. If she was sure of anything about Kuroda it was that he truly cared for the young girl, but here he was, without even a compliment or some remark to show that he cared.

Whatever was bothering him must be truly terrible.

"It's a good thing we didn't lose anyone," she tried,

No response,

"and we got five of them, I'd say this is a victory,"

Still no response, instead he turned his head more toward the window.

Yoruichi quietly sighed. It was going to be a quiet ride home.

( #&%(*# %&)( #*%&)(*&% #)&% )#&%() #&%() *#&%)

It was 10:00 PM when the group arrived back at the apartment building. Rajin and Kaito headed off to their respective rooms after saying a quick good bye to their Commander.

Kuroda and Yoruichi, who was still carrying Mei, returned to Kuroda's apartment. After lying Mei back in bed and taking a quick shower Yoruichi announced that she would be going off to bed as well.

Kuroda, who was sitting down on the lower floor on one of his couches, told her "good night" and continued to sit down in the dark, an hour later, he was in the exact same position. The difference was that now he had a small glass full of sake in front of him and a tall bottle of the same stuff on the table. He'd also taken off his jacket and tie, leaving his torso with only an unbuttoned white dress shirt.

Between the time they'd returned and now, it had started raining outside and from the looks of it, there would be a full-fledged storm pretty soon.

Kuroda took a small sip of the strong alcohol in his cup and watched the rain fall outside of his overly large windows. Why did he have such large windows?

He sighed, truth be told the windows didn't bother him all that much. It was the events of the night, what that Arrancar, Tyran had said to him.

As much as Kuroda hated to admit such a thing, the Arrancar had been right. They were the same, just one look in the hollow's eye and he could tell, he too was a kin-slayer, he too had committed terrible atrocities.

But at the same time, they were completely different. Kuroda wasn't totally sure what, but somewhere along the path they had both walked, he had gone left and Tyran had gone right. What was the difference? Or was Kuroda fooling himself? Maybe they were exactly the same and Tyran was simply the bigger monster.

Would that mean that Kuroda would have to become even more of a monster to fight him? The thought of doing so made him shudder, he quickly took another sip of his sake.

Then there was the problem inside of him, those two…things. It was bad enough that one of them was getting loose, but now Kuroda knew that both of them were. The violent crazy one was horrible, Kuroda knew from firsthand experience. But the other one, the one trapped inside of the mausoleum, that one was the real nightmare. Kuroda didn't even want to think about that one.

He needed to find a way to take care of the first one quickly, maybe with that one out of the way the one inside the mausoleum would lose the ability to reach out. But that still left him with the question of how to deal with the problem of that damn maniac inside of him.

He could try just killing him, that had worked with two others. After Kuroda had killed them they had simply vanished forever and had become part of himself again. But Kuroda didn't know if that was an option in this case.

That maniac had survived this long because he was a huge chunk of Kuroda's power, second only to the one inside of the mausoleum who was an even larger chunk.

Even chained up like that, Kuroda doubt he could have done any damage to either of them.

He sighed and took gulped down the rest of the sake in his cup.

"Of all the times this could be happening, why now?"

He then looked down at his empty cup, then at the jar on the table, then back at the cup.

"why the hell am I drinking this crap?"

Kuroda eventually went to sleep on that couch, when he did, he dreamed of terrible things.

( #*(%&*() #%&)&*%) #*(&%) #&%) #&%) #&*%%# )

The next day, Yoruichi came down stairs after a warm shower wearing only her tank top and underwear. She figured it could be a fun way to see if Kuroda was feeling any better after a night of sleep, if he reacted like a prude then he was fine, if he didn't…

Yoruichi's train of thought was interrupted when she saw the last thing she expected to see early in the morning. Kuroda was apparently passed out on the couch, she also noted a bottle of sake on the table next to him. She picked it up and gave it small shake, it felt mostly full, so that ruled out one possibility.

She decided to wake him, shaking his shoulder gently.

"Hmm?" he grunted,

"Time to wake up sleepy head, you're supposed to be the cook in the morning, not me,"

"Mmm," Kuroda opened his eyes and rubbed his forehead, he then sat up and shook his head like a dog.

"Were you down here all night?" asked Yoruichi,

"Yeah," he replied,

"Did you get any sleep?"

"Some"

"How much?"

"What time is it?"

"6:00 AM"

"uh… about three hours"

"You were up till three o'clock?"

"That's what it looks like," he replied, standing up. It was then that he noticed Yoruichi's lack of clothes,

However, that was all he did, he simply noticed.

"Let me take a quick shower, then I'll get breakfast started," he said, before moving upstairs and entering the bathroom.

Not even a small twitch.

"This is not good," said Yoruichi, she returned to her room and quickly put on a bathrobe. There was no point walking around half naked if Kuroda wasn't even going to chastise her. Though the thought of walking around completely naked to see if that would garner a reaction crossed her mind, she decided against it. Mei would be up soon and Kuroda would be probably a little more than furious if she started thinking her father was okay with nudity.

True to his word, Kuroda showered quickly and immediately began on breakfast.

Mei woke up soon after, as she walked down stairs she saw her father setting food on the table and let out a surprised yelp.

"Good, you're up," said Kuroda when he noticed Mei, "hurry and eat, you have school in an hour."

When Mei didn't move, Kuroda asked, "are you just going to stand there all day?"

Mei's lower lip began to tremble and her eyes began to grow wide, she ran down the stair and tackled her father in a tight hug.

"Waaah, I thought you were going to die!" she cried into his shirt,

"Wha-"

"You were all beat up and wouldn't wake up!" she wailed,

It was almost comical that the dangerous and calm girl that had been fighting two Arrancar last night was suddenly crying like a…well, little girl.

"Shhhh, it's okay," he whispered as he caringly stroked her, "I'm okay now,"

She held her face in his shirt for a few more minutes before Kuroda finally said, "you should probably eat your breakfast now,"

Mei let go of his shirt and smiled brightly, "Okay!"

She immediately sat down next to Yoruichi and began putting food onto her plate and swallowing it down.

Kuroda sat down across from Yoruichi and watched his daughter eat, when she finished she announced that she was off to school and left. Yoruichi was left smiling, Kuroda didn't notice, but she still said,

"You're a good father,"

He didn't respond to that either, something that worried her even more.

( #%)( *&%)#(&*%)( #*&%)( #&%) #&) &%) #%&)

Tyran sat at the edge of his bed, a sour look on his face with a hard scowl on top. His eyes were narrowed with annoyance and his thumb continuously flicked his zanpaktou an inch out of its sheath then let it fall back in.

Behind him, Yin knelt on the bed purposefully pressing herself against his naked back and rubbing his powerful shoulders whilst laying butterfly kisses along his neck. Yang sat on the floor between his legs, playfully rubbing his inner thighs through his pants. The twins had noticed that their master had been on edge and had tried to get him to relax the best way they knew how.

Unfortunately, while the sex had been great, it had only kept Tyran's mind occupied for a few hours. Now he was on edge again, the twins needed a rest but still attempted to soothe him nonetheless.

Tyran was disappointed, horribly so. He'd thought that he'd finally found someone that was like him. Someone who knew that making the choices that were necessary was the key to power. That only by becoming what the world feared could one climb to the top of the food chain. That knew only those were monsters deserved to rule.

Survival of the fittest

Yet those words that Kuroda had spoken before Tyran had left him for dead, "we don't deserve to rule"

It made Tyran want to strangle something!

Not just because it conflicted with his belief, but because it was saying that everything Tyran had done was for nothing. All the friends he'd killed to test his ability to murder anyone, all the millions of hollows that had called him kin only to be slaughtered by his hand, meant nothing.

He had sold his soul for the power he now possessed, just as Kuroda had. Yet Kuroda had also claimed that they didn't deserve to rule.

Tyran ground his teeth. Kuroda was nothing like him, he had been wrong to assume that Kuroda was anything like him. No, Kuroda was weak, just another bump on the road to life. Nothing more.

"Knock knock!"

The Cero Espada was shaken out of his thoughts by a disturbingly cheerful voice. Someone opened the door to his chambers and stepped in,

"I'm not interruptin anything am I?"

"Ichimaru," growled Tyran,

"Whoa! Somethin tickin you off Tyran?" Gin asked in a friendly manner,

The Arrancar and the rouge Shinigami were not best friends per se, but most of the time they got along just fine. So Gin knew that Tyran was on edge simply by the way he was greeted by the Arrancar.

"Nothing you need to know of," replied the Arrancar,

"Don't seem like ya've got much to be ticked off about," said Gin, referring to the two lovely ladies caressing his body, "or do ya need a few more?"

Tyran snorted, a bit amused, he'd always found Gin amusing.

"Nah, just…let down I guess,"

"Ah, yeah, I heard about that,"

"Lord Aizen said this guy was supposed to be strong," muttered Tyran, "but when I fought him, he was only a bit stronger than Nnoitra, which for me is like kicking around a puppy."

"Really?" asked Gin, his face bearing genuine surprise, "I didn't think ya'd over power him so easily, specially with his seals off."

"Yeah…wait, seals?"

"You don't know?"

"I just asked didn't I?"

"Okay, okay," said Gin, still smiling, "Kuroda's got these seals on his arm, they hold back his power. He's got three in total."

"Seals…" whispered Tyran, he then asked, "how many were off when I helped Lord Aizen, you, and Tosen escape from Soul Society?"

"Hmmm, let me think," Gin pondered, scrunching up his face as though thinking hard, "I'm pretty sure he had two of them off."

"Two?"

Gin nodded,

At first, Tyran said nothing, he simply sat there with his eyes wide and unblinking. The twins took note of this, Yin asked, "Lord Tyran? Are you alright?"

Then, he began to laugh. A loud, happy laugh of relief.

"Hahahaha! So that's why he didn't put up a fight!" he realized, "haha, oh, it makes sense now!"

"Lord Tyran?" this time Yang,

"He didn't release his seals! That's why I beat him so easily!" Tyran licked his lips, he was once again looking forward to fighting Kuroda. The next time they met, he would rip those seals off himself and show the world what people like him and Kuroda could do.

"Well you're in better spirits now ain't ya"

"Thanks Ichimaru, because of you, things make sense," said Tyran, a devilish smirk now on his face, "so I'm I'll give you some friendly advice in return, you might want to get out of here right now."

"Oh, why?" asked the rouge shinigami, quirking his head to the side,

Tyran grinned "me and the girls are going to get a bit…explicit,"

Gin snorted, "well then I best do as ya say, have fun"

With a flash of Shunpo, the shinigami was gone, leaving Tyran alone with Yin and Yang.

(& ()*%& ()#&%) (#*&%)( #&%) &#%)*& #)%&)

Ichigo walked with Kuroda as they exited the limo and headed on foot towards what looked to be a warehouse.

"That's where they are?"

"Yeah," said Kuroda, as they walked, "let me do the talking alright. You've made it pretty clear to them that you're loyal to Soul Society, the Vizard aren't very fond of anyone from there."

"Why's that?"

Kuroda paused, "it's a long story, I'll tell you it sometime, but for now let's just concentrate on your problem."

The two shinigami entered through the open garage door. It was dark inside, the only light available was that given by the sun from outside.

The door suddenly shut behind them with a loud screech. The two stopped their steps, the lights came on, blinding both for a few seconds.

"Well look who it is" said a familiar voice, "Ichigo, long time no see,"

The substitute looked up to see a rather colorful assortment of people standing upon the ledges of broken concrete floors.

"Looks like you were right," said the blonde man to Kuroda, who stood on the middle floor, "he did come around eventually."

Ichigo was silent and so was Kuroda.

"So, finally decided to join us, did you Ichigo," Shinji said cockily,

The substitute was silent for a brief moment, then replied, "Bite me!"

"Wha!" Shinji yelled, taken a back,

"I'm not joining your little club," corrected Ichigo, "I'm just here to learn how you control your hollows, that's all."

Shinji frowned, "is that so?"

"Be glad I don't try to beat it out of you, it's only because Kuroda seems to trust you that I've decided to even listen to you,"

Kuroda sighed,

"Why you little-" started a short blonde girl who wore her hair in pigtails, "you've got a lot of nerve speaking to us like that! Just because you've got a mask doesn't make you a Vizard. We only help people who are worth something and just by looking at you I can tell you're a weak-"

"Enough Hiyori,"

At the sound of Kuroda's voice, the girl immediately stopped her ranting though clearly begrudgingly.

"If you don't trust Ichigo, trust me when I say that he's strong enough to be a Vizard," said Kuroda,

Hiyori crossed her arms and looked away, obviously she accepted his word but didn't like it.

"I'd best introduce all of you since Ichigo will be spending a lot of time here," decided Kuroda, "from left to right, Kensei Mugurama, Lisa Yadomaru, Hacigen Ushoda, sometimes called Hachi, you've met Hiyori Sarugaki, Love Aikawa, Mashiro Kuna, Rojuro Otoribashi, but he mostly goes by Rose."

"Nice to meet all of you," said Ichigo, giving a small wave,

They all returned in their respective ways, Kensei simply grunted and so did Lisa, Hachi gave a small bow, Hiyori did nothing except scowl, Love gave a polite nod, and Rose gave a rather exaggerated wave back.

"Hey, you didn't introduce me!" protested Shinji,

"He already knows you," said Kuroda, Shinji tried to protest more but was largely ignored, "Hachi, I'd like you to get down to the training area and start setting up what you usually use for hollow taming."

"Right away," said the large man,

"The rest of you go join him, except Shinji and Love," the rest did as instructed, even Hiyori.

"Are you ready for this?" asked Kuroda turning to the substitute,

"He's been hounding me for too long, I'm done trying to avoid this problem, its time I confronted him once and for all and put an end to this," replied the teen,

"You didn't answer the question," Kuroda pointed out,

Ichigo sighed, "To be honest, I'm afraid as hell. I've tried pushing it out but it just doesn't want to go away. I wish I was like you, unafraid of anything."

"No Ichigo, don't be like me, at least not in this way,"

"What do you mean?" asked Ichigo, confused, "doesn't fear dull my attacks?"

"It does if you allow it to, but fear is still as much a part of life as that hollow is a part of your soul. All things feel fear, even hollow. Many try to repress it or make themselves numb to it, but they do not understand. Everything that makes us up, is perfected to helping us survive. When you get rid of fear, you get rid of the body's need to keep itself alive, to push itself beyond what it can do so that you can succeed. Whether it be fear of failure, fear of loss, or fear of death. How can you achieve the power you want, if you deny your body its basest function."

Ichigo didn't reply, for he knew not how to respond.

"Remember that when you are trying to tame your hollow, what he perceives as weakness from humanity is really your strength."

Ichigo nodded, though he didn't really understand.

By now Shinji and Love had arrived on their level,

"You ready Ichigo?" asked Shinji,

Ichigo nodded, he reached into his back pocket and took out his badge. He held it to his chest and popped out of his body into spirit form. Kuroda caught his body before it fell and carefully laid it out on the ground.

Suddenly, Shinji brought his hand up and stopped it right in front of Ichigo's face. A moment later, the Substitute collapsed, Love quickly caught the teen on his shoulder.

"I'll leave him with you for now," said Kuroda, "try to makes sure Hiyori doesn't kill him."

"Sure," replied Shinji,

Kuroda then reached into his coat and pulled out a large manila envelope. He handed it to Shinji, "this should cover whatever extra cost you have for his living here."

Shinji peeked into the envelope to find quite a few bundles of money, all paper bills, big paper bills.

"Cover extra cost? You could buy two houses with what you've got in here, besides we have our own money, we can take care of him fine,"

"Buy yourself a better hat," suggested Kuroda, "or get a decent haircut."

With that said, he turned around and left,

"And where are you headed off to?" asked Love,

"Kuroda paused by the exit before saying, "I have some of my own problems to figure out."

The door closed, leaving the Vizard to train Ichigo.

**End**

**A/N**

**So, hope you guys liked this new chapter. I know it was quite a bit shorter than the last one but its mostly for pacing reasons. Don't worry, the first week of school is usually pretty lax so the next chapter shouldn't take too long to upload.**

**Kuroda is being a rich boy again! Heehee!**

**In other news, we finally got to see Kuroda's inner world! Yeah!**

**We also met his crazy side!**

**OC submissions for Arrancars are still up, just PM them to me.**

**Tell me what you think in the reviews, favorite the story, and share with your friends!**

**Bye Bye!**


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Confrontation

"Wow you're so cute!"

Tatsuki rolled her eyes as Chizuru squealed over the newest addition to their class, Kuroda's daughter, Mei Ryou. The young shinigami, posing as a new student in Karakura High chuckled nervously as half the class smothered her with attention.

"What's it like having Kuroda as a father?" asked Keigo, "is he really strict and scary?"

"nah, he's actually really fun!" she replied,

"Huh? Kuroda? Fun?" calling upon all the memories they had, none of the group could ever recall a moment of Kuroda being fun.

"Where do you live?" asked Mizuiro, "since your dad's real rich, it must be like a real big mansion or something right?"

"Something like that,"

While the group continued to bombard Mei with questions, Tatsuki bit her lip as she noticed Orihime sitting at her desk and looking out the classroom windows. She could tell that the orange haired girl was bothered by something, as a longtime friend, Tatsuki could tell these sorts of things.

She wondered if perhaps Orihime knew something about Ichigo's strange habits, dressing in a black robe, carrying that big sword, fighting monsters. Just yesterday, Tatsuki had been on a late night jog when she had heard loud sounds like explosions, and saw bright flashes in the sky.

She had seen Ichigo fighting against a strange person and had seen him be defeated, only to be saved by two men whom she recognized to be Kuroda's employees. Was Kuroda part of this as well?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Chizuru ask, "What are your measurements?"

"Uh…well"

Tatsuki sighed and prepared to save the poor girl from Chizuru's lust,

"Oh you're so cute! I just want to smother you with kisses!" the girl pounced at Mei and Tatsuki rushed over to restrain her,

However, Tatsuki's intervention was soon found to be unneeded, as Mei suddenly lashed out with a high kick that caught Chizuru right in the center of her face and sent her across the room.

The group gasped in surprise,

"Oops, sorry!" called Mei, "it was sort of a reflex,"

"She's a lot stronger than she looks," whispered a student,

Yup, Tatsuki decided, Kuroda and his family were definitely part of it.

( #*%& #()&% #)(*&%) #&%)# &*)&% )(#&*%) #%&) #%&)&% #)

Ichigo opened his eyes find himself looking upon the familiar scene of his inner world, and kneeling down across from him on the skyscraper was his hollow.

"_Hey! Long time no see, King"_ greeted his Hollow,

Ichigo gave no response, instead he simply glared at his hollow. His hand slowly and carefully reached up to Zangetsu's hilt,

"_What's the matter King? You don't look too happy to see me"_

Ichigo's hand grasped the hilt of Zangetsu,

"_Getting right down to business huh? Good, I hate talking to you anyway,"_ his hollow stood up and grasped the hilt of his own, white version of Zangetsu.

Ichigo unsheathed his weapon, the wrapping unraveling as he brought up in front of him.

"_You really are mad,"_ said the hollow, _"I wonder what for, could it be because I stopped you from helping your friend?"_

Ichigo's reiatsu flared violently, unleashing a powerful gust that cracked the glass of the skyscraper. Soon entire pieces of the building began to come off, the material making it up simply could handle the sheer amount of stress that the shinigami was putting on it.

The hollow's eyes widened, not expecting such power from his host.

As if to continue surprising the hollow, Ichigo swung his blade down at the ground beside him. Reiatsu oozed out of the blade unintentionally cutting a massive trench into the building.

The hollow smirked, _"Wow, you must really want to hurt me,"_

"I'm not going to hurt you," said Ichigo, speaking for the first time, "I'm going to tear your god damn head off!"

As if let off some invisible leash, both combatants disappeared in a flash of Shunpo, Ichigo and his hollow met each other mid-way, their weapons clashed with each other. A powerful shockwave exploded out from their struggle, the very ground beneath them was cut.

The hollow broke the lock first and swung at Ichigo's side, however instead of blocking like expected, Ichigo jumped into the air, his feet just a few inches above the white Zangetsu.

The hollow was caught off guard, Ichigo saw his chance. He grasped his blade with both hands and raised it above his head,

"**Getsuga!"**

The hollow's eyes widened,

"**Tensho!"**

Ichigo swung his reiatsu infused blade and let loose a massive wave of bright energy at his enemy. The hollow quickly threw up its own blade just in time to block the incoming attack. It crashed into the hollows defense and shoved it back many meters as the hollow desperately dugs its heels into the ground.

The hollow growled and tried to push back but just as it felt it was finally gaining control of the struggle, it sensed Ichigo above it. The hollow turned its eyes skyward and confirmed what its senses told it.

"**Getsuga Tensho!"**

The Hollow's eyes went incredibly wide as the wave of reiatsu descended upon it while its hands were already occupied.

Ichigo from above watched as his pincer maneuver caught his opponent between two attacks. A massive plume of dust and smoke erupted as the second Getsuga slammed into the Hollow.

It wasn't very long before Ichigo heard his hollow's chilling laugh, followed by the smoke being swept away.

"Well what do you know! You aren't half bad!" complimented the hollow as it stood in a large crater, "guess you aren't as weak as I thought you were, I wasn't expecting that at all and let my guard down, but now we can have some real fun!"

Ichigo raised Zangetsu as he unconsciously pounded his hollow with killer intent. His hollow licked its lips in anticipation, without warning it pounced into the air.

The shinigami met the hollow head on and the world shook from battle.

(#*%& )(*%& )#(%&* #()*&%) (&%) #%&)#%&% #&)

Kuroda almost wished that Orihime hadn't healed his wounds as well as she had, then perhaps he wouldn't be at this stupid meeting about expanding his hotel and apartment business.

Right now he sat at the head of a long square glass table with his executives and general managers. One of them was at the other side of the room by the projector screen, explaining various things about population, economic status, etc.

However, the meeting was refreshingly normal and human considering what had happened last night. It also helped Kuroda keep his mind off of his 'problem' by making him force himself to pay attention to whatever the executive was talking about.

At the end of the meeting, it was agreed that construction on a new hotel would be started near a University campus in some city whose name Kuroda forgot five minutes later. It was also announced that the top three executives and himself would be going to some dinner with the owners of a small time motel company with the potential of convincing them to sell to the company.

That was the last thing Kuroda wanted, when he went to these dinners, he had to dress up and pretend that he was some friendly rich boy who actually gave a damn what people thought about him. It almost hurt.

He'd almost rather be Ichigo, fighting his hollow, than go to that damn dinner.

( #%*)(&#* )(*&%) #(*&%) #%&) #&%) #&% )&#%)

"It's almost my turn again,"

Shinji didn't respond to his fellow Vizard Lisa's comment, though he knew it was true. Inside of the barrier, he watched as Kensei fought with the hollowfyed Ichigo. The shinigami was definitely going the process much faster than any of them had expected, already the entire upper half was caked with the bone like material that made up a hollow's skin.

The hollowfication only progressed when the hollow inside called upon its power, the fact that Ichigo was already half hollow meant that the hollow wasn't playing around in there.

Did that mean Ichigo was winning or that he had just started losing? Shinji didn't know, he could only hope that the kid could win.

"It's almost my turn again," repeated Lisa,

"I know," he replied, "but we've got to keep going, just give him a little more time, I know he can do it."

Shinji could tell that no one was particularly happy with his choice, Hiyori in particular looked annoyed but he ignored it and continued watching.

'Come on Ichigo, I've given you some more time, but I can't delay forever. Hurry up, or we really will have to kill you'

( #%*)(&#* )(*&%) #(*&%) #%&) #&%) #&% )&#%)

Ichigo and his hollow had been go at each other for nearly half an hour now with neither one able to gain the upper hand. Just when one of them seemed to be able to land a blow, the other quickly countered and turned it against the first.

"**Getsuga Tensho!"**

"_**Getsuga Tensho!"**_

Both shinigami and hollow sung their zanpaktou and let loose a wave of hardened reiatsu at the other with Ichigo's being a bright blue and the hollow's being a crimson red.

The two waves slammed into each other and canceled out in a massive explosion of smoke, Ichigo quickly burst forward through the smoke in hopes of catch his opponent off guard. But when he came out onto the other side, he found nothing.

"_Hahahahaha!"_

Ichigo's eyes turned up to see his hollow laughing up above him while spinning its Zangetsu around using the blade wrap. The hollow jerked down on the wrap, causing the white Zangetsu to come down upon Ichigo, the shinigami quickly blocked the attack with the flat of his own Zangetsu.

The hollow landed back down in front of him and quickly jerked its Zangetsu back into its pale hands and charged Ichigo. The substitute blocked that attack as well, then expertly riposted.

His hollow jumped back a few meters, still smiling. Ichigo dashed forward at full speed with Zangetsu tip leading his charge.

The hollow threw up its Zangetsu, blocking the attack with the flat of the blade and deflecting it to the side. Seeing an opening, the hollow swung at Ichigo's neck. But Ichigo quickly rerouted the force of his deflected attack, bringing the blade around and over his head, then down.

The two Zangetsu slammed into each other blade to blade. Sparks burst out from the impact, showering the two combatants in small stinging worms.

Ichigo pressed down with all his strength, the hollow frowned as he was gradually being overpowered. Suddenly the hollow threw itself back, causing Ichigo to slip and fall with it. The hollow shot out both feet and kicked Ichigo away.

Ichigo tucked himself into a ball and rolled through the air and back onto his feet.

"**Getsuga Tensho!"**

The substitute swung his sword and let out a fierce wave of sharp reiatsu, his Hollow quickly shunpo'd out of the way. When it reappeared it watched the wave go by and cut into a skyscraper in the distance.

The building immediately burst apart, its foundation crumbling until it broke in half and fell to the ground below.

"_Nice, nice,"_ complimented the hollow_, "you know, before it was kind of embarrassing to have you as king, but if you win, I don't think it'll be so bad now that you've toughened up."_

"What are you talking about?" demanded Ichigo,

"_I'm complimenting you dumbass, can't you understand that I'm giving you a bit of credit?"_

"I don't need your praise," growled Ichigo, he raised up Zangetsu and placed his left hand upon his right wrist, "I just need you to die!"

"_Hmph, sorry to break it to you Ichigo, but even if you do beat me, you won't be rid of me permanently. I'm as much a part of your soul as Zangetsu, we complete each other." _The hollow mimicked Ichigo, held out its own Zangetsu and placed its left hand on its wrist.

Ichigo's eyes widened slightly,

'could he…'

Only one way to find out, Ichigo gathered his reiatsu as did the hollow, together they yelled out,

"**Ban-kai!"**

A plume of reiatsu engulfed both of them and shattered the building they stood upon. When the dust settled, both wore a long cloak and carried more mainstream katana.

Ichigo scowled, his hollow knew bankai as well, he should have expected it. But that didn't change a thing, he was still going to take the bastard down.

The two disappeared then reappeared in the air, slamming their new weapons against each other. The resulting clash turned bright as both expelled hideously large amounts of reiatsu.

"_You don't seem surprised that I know bankai too,"_ commented his hollow,

Ichigo refused to respond, instead he broke off from the struggle and attacked from afar,

"**Getsuga"**

"_Nice try,"_ the hollow burst forward, katana outstretched to stab Ichigo in the heart,

But Ichigo had been expecting this, his hollow's attack didn't set him off, it gave him an easier target. Turning his down ward chop into a spinning sideways slash, he yelled out the last word,

"**Tensho!"**

A wave of black energy exploded towards the advancing hollow, who had been just a meter away when the wave was fired. The hollow could not redirect its course and was forced to throw up its katana and cut its way through.

It did so without much effort, seeing Ichigo caught off guard it lunged forward and began to rapidly spear its katana at the shinigami.

"_Come on! Don't space out! The fun is just starting!"_

Ichigo dodged and weaved through the rapid thrusts that threatened to skewer his body. His hollow was fast, but the shinigami's time with Kuroda had caused his senses to adjust to such high speeds. He waited for the right moment, his hollow thrust, and he took a chance. He side stepped the stab, then grabbed his hollow by the wrist.

His hollow was surprised at the move; Ichigo gave it no time to figure out what was going on. He swung his katana at his hollow's exposed neck. But the hollow quickly ducked under, the blade skimming just above its white hair then retaliated by throwing an uppercut that hit Ichigo right under the jaw.

The shinigami was thrown back by the force of the blow,

Taking advantage of its opponent's temporary vulnerability, the hollow attacked,

"_**Getsuga Tensho!"**_

A wave of crimson reiatsu followed after Ichigo, the teen barely had enough time to recover from his flight then Shunpo out of the way. But when Ichigo reappeared, his hollow was waiting.

The shinigami could only attempt to jump back as the hollow's white blade came down and cut into his left shoulder.

"_Too slow king,"_ chided the hollow, _"but let me tell you, you're definitely doing a lot better than I thought you would."_

Ichigo clutched his wounded shoulder and scowled, his reiatsu flared and temporarily caused his hollow to take pause. He suddenly burst forward and attacked with a flurry of hyper fast strikes. The hollow quickly began weaving, dodging, and blocking.

Ichigo amped up the pressure, pressing his bankai's speed to its limits, eventually he struck flesh.

His black blade sliced across the hollow's abdomen, it quickly leapt away and looked down at the wound.

"_Hmph, not bad,"_ instead of blood coming out of the wound, a strange blackness seeped out and change the color of its white robes to the same color as his own.

"_But not quite deep enough,"_ said the hollow, it suddenly burst forward and restarted the fight.

The two of them exchanged blows back and forth at an incredibly fast pace, Ichigo swung the hollow dodged, the hollow thrust and Ichigo sidestepped. But ultimately, it was Ichigo he began to tire, his body under too much stress caused him to eventually slow.

When the hollow thrust its katana at his head, Ichigo was a split second slower and was lightly cut across the cheek. The shinigami growled and retaliated with a thrust of his own, the hollow swiftly side stepped then used its hand to push the blade aside, leaving Ichigo open to counter attack. It took advantage of the opening and swung, Ichigo hurriedly jumped away but was again a split second too slow and took a new wound to the stomach.

The shinigami landed back on a skyscraper and assumed a defensive pose, his hollow landed down a few meters away smirking confidently.

"_Do you know what your problem is Ichigo,"_

"Like I'm going to let you tell me" Ichigo raised his sword,

"_It's that you're too human,"_ the hollow suddenly shunpo'd in front of Ichigo and let loose a full powered Getsuga.

The attack was absolutely massive and engulfed Ichigo easily, he came out of it with a tattered robe and a new wound on the corner of his forehead.

"_You're humanity makes your blade dull and your attacks weaker, because with humanity comes fear. Fear of conflict, which leads to reluctance to fight. Fear of struggle, which leads to lack of endurance. Fear of power which eventually leads to weakness. Fear of a sword which eventually leads to death."_

Ichigo's mouth opened slightly, as his mind began to go back to what Kuroda had told him. The veteran shinigami had said that the ability to fear was Ichigo's strength, not a weakness.

The hollow suddenly dashed forward and struck three times in succession, Ichigo blocked all three but was sent skidding back a few meters from the force of the blows.

"_What would happen if I told you that I knew how this was going to end, that I'd just been holding back this whole time and was simply toying with you?" _asked the hollow,

Ichigo ignored it, or tried to, and dashed forward himself. He mimicked his hollow and struck three times against its defense, predictably it blocked all three strikes. Then Ichigo changed it up by suddenly sweeping its feet from under it, the hollow was knocked down, leaving Ichigo in an advantage.

He thrust his black katana down but the hollow quickly rolled away and got back to its feet.

"Something tells me you're bluffing," said Ichigo,

"_Oh really?"_ his hollow suddenly disappeared, then reappeared above him, it swung its white katana down. Ichigo raised his own weapon and blocked, but the sheer force of the blow sent him reeling. The hollow took advantage of this and kicked the substitute in the stomach.

The blow knocked the wind right out of Ichigo and sent him tumbling across the ground.

"_You see, what I told you has already taken hold. You were right, I was bluffing, but your humanity let your fear take hold and cause your senses to dull,"_ said the hollow, _"You just don't have what it takes to stay king."_

Ichigo weakly rose to his feet and resumed his position, his eyes clear that though beaten and battered his goal remained the same. To kill his hollow.

"_Tell me Ichigo do you know what the difference is between king and his horse?"_

"Should I care?"

"_You should, because there is a very clear difference between the two. I'm not just talking about obvious stuff like one's an animal and one's a human or one had two legs and the other has four. What truly separates these two beings?"_

Ichigo didn't respond,

"_There's an obvious answer, instinct! One has the necessary instinct to kill while the other does not!"_ the hollow paused and regarded Ichigo_, "though sometimes that's not enough. Even a horse can be trained to kill given time. Just like you've been trained to have your own killer instinct and I've gotta say, its impressive."_

The hollow gestured to the wound on its belly from which the black substance was still spread and now covered most of its lower abdomen.

"_So what else separates them? There's tons of different things, but the second one is also just as obvious. A king has control, unlike the horse the king knows how to keep himself together. He knows how to control his fear and how to utilize his anger. A horse wouldn't have slightest amount of control over its fear, it lets fear take over. That is your problem Ichigo, you don't have control, you let those instincts that hold you back affect you too much and let them get in the way of the useful ones."_

Ichigo tried to keep his mind focused on his intent to kill, but he couldn't help but take the hollow's words to heart. Was that why he lost to Grimmjow? Was that why he was now being gradually defeated by his hollow?

No! Kuroda had already told him that fear was his strength. But why wasn't it helping him now? Why wasn't it helping him win? He was afraid, he admitted that. He didn't want to die here. The idea of his body being taken over by his hollow terrified him. So why wasn't his fear making him strong?

Had he not been so deep in his own thoughts, he might have noticed sooner the incoming katana. But by the time he did, it was too late. He tried to move, but in vain, the white katana speared him through the stomach and protruded out his back.

He looked down at the blade in his body and felt himself grow cold.

He lost just like that?

"_Don't be bummed out King," _said the hollow as it grabbed the handle of its sword, _"you got strong, stronger than I could have ever thought possible and you proved that maybe you could've kept the crown. But in the end, you're just human."_

'No!' Ichigo screamed in his mind as he tried to move, but his body refused and stayed still.

'So this is it? This is how I end up dying? All those fights, all that training, everything, and this is how I die? Was it all for nothing? Does being human really make me so weak? Does having fears make it so easy for me to be defeated? Why can't I have both power and the right to fear? Who decides that I can't?! Who?!'

He felt his vision begin to darken as his body began to die.

'Rukia, I'm so sorry. I couldn't win, all that faith you had in me was for nothing. Orihimie, Chad, Uryu, all of my friends, I couldn't get strong enough to protect you.'

His vision darkened even further as it did, his mind began to drift to that moment when he'd seen Grimmjow punch a hole through Rukia and he had been forced to watch. All he had wanted was the ability to make sure that never happened again, but instead he made it so that he'd never get the chance to try again. No, instead he'd made it so that he couldn't be there by his friends and allies to make sure nothing happened to them, he made it so that he would no longer be there to lend support or make sure that danger wouldn't come to them.

That was what he feared the most now, and despite his current situation it formed a lump in his heart.

'Am I really going to let that happen?' he asked himself, 'am I really going to leave them alone?'

No, that was unacceptable.

Fear gripped Ichigo's heart, but it was not the same cold horrible fear that caused him to freeze up or made his sword dull. It was not the same fear that Ichigo had been taught to be rid of. No, this fear was different, it gave him strength.

He feared dying and losing his body to the hollow that stood before him, not because he simply didn't want to die. But because of all that could happen without him, how could he die, knowing that if he did, all those who depended on him would be in danger.

His body suddenly responsive and followed his command to tighten the grip around his katana. The hollow seemed to notice this and stopped trying to pull its katana out.

Ichigo's free hand unexpectedly shot out and grabbed his hollow's white blade. Almost immediately, the sword began to change color, black dye shooting down the blade, onto the handle and right to the hollow's hand.

It quickly let go and jumped away, it hand was now no longer a pure white but instead was of the same color as Ichigo's skin.

The hollow's white katana soon became as black as Ichigo's, without hesitation the shinigami ripped the weapon from his body, letting loose a geyser of red blood.

The shinigami held the weapon high in the air then spun it around in his hand, tossed it up and caught it by the handle. He then held out both katana in front of him and crossed them over his chest in the form of an X.

He raised his eyes to the hollow, who was completely stunned at what it was seeing. Ichigo's eyes glared into the hollow's for a brief moment before the shinigami charge head on with his twin katana held out at his sides.

The hollow shook itself out of its stupor and quickly began to fly away in a vain attempt to survive. Ichigo, despite the hollow flying at top speeds, quickly caught up and cut the hollow off much to the its surprise.

The shinigami swung his left sword, the hollow side stepped but was then cut by the second right sword, right down the shoulder. It growled as it tried to avoid another flurry of strikes, all while being driven back.

With its mind so focused on Ichigo, it unintentionally crashed right into one of the skyscrapers. Cornered it almost didn't escape the massive black Getsuga that came for it. The hollow quickly shunpo'd away and watched from a distance as the entire skyscraper was completely destroyed.

It soon regretted not keeping its guard up as pain suddenly sliced through the small of its back. It turned around to see Ichigo, his blade covered in blood. But the shinigami did not relent, he struck again this time catching the hollow on the other shoulder.

By now the blackness was oozing out of the hollow's wounds at a tremendous rate. But Ichigo would not stop, he struck again and again and again, never ceasing his mad frenzy. He cut across its chest, he down it back, he sliced into its ribs.

The Hollow was soon completely covered in wounds, by now only its small patches of its body remained the original white. The hollow panted heavily, its body no longer able to move.

It was time to bring this to a close.

Ichigo drew back both katana, "ready to end this, horse?"

The hollow looked up, scowled and let out a small snort.

Ichigo thrust both forward and into the hollow's chest, the blackness burst out and completely enveloped the hollow. Everything except its head was now a mirror copy of Ichigo.

"_Heh, well what do you know, I don't know how you did it but you won,"_

Ichigo didn't respond, he only stared into the yellow eyes of his hollow. The hollow's body began to disintegrate, starting from the feet, eventually it went up all the way to its waist.

"_I guess there's more to you humans then I thought," _admitted the hollow, its entire lower body was now gone along with its left arm, but still it continued to talk, _"I'll submit to you for now King, might even be fun to be your horse. But remember, either one of us can wear the crown, if think you're starting become weak I'll reach up, drag you down, and smash open you head. Remember that, King."_

With that said, the hollow disappeared completely. Then the world went white and Ichigo felt himself wake up.

( #*%& )#(%&*) #(*&%) (#&%) #*&(% )%&*)

Love skidded back from the force of another powerful strike from the hollowfyed, the shinigami then raised its now clawed hand and aimed it at Love. A red light began to shine from the tips of its fingers, Lisa's eyes widened, "Love! He's using a Cero!"

"I see it!" the Vizard immediately placed his hand in front of his face,

"Love is going to hollowfy?" asked Mashiro, obviously worried,

"Of course, even he can't take that kind of power head on," replied Rose,

The very ground shook as the red light on Ichigo's finger tips began to saturate with power, Love was about to hollowfy but found he didn't need to when, suddenly, there was a loud cracking noise followed by Ichigo's demonic screams.

Hiyori immediately knew what was happening, "Hachi! Get Love out of there!"

Hachi nodded and opened an exit in the barrier with a snap of his fingers, Love quickly exited. Hachi reclosed the barrier just in time, an explosion enveloped the howling Ichigo and let loose a blinding light. Everyone turned away, eventually the light died down leaving only clouds of dust inside.

"Hachi, open it up," commanded Shinji,

"As you command," said the Vizard, who snapped his fingers again and dispelled the barrier. The dust was then free to clear, leaving Ichigo standing there. At first it seemed he was still hollowfyed, but like a chrysalis, it seemed to fall off and disintegrated, revealing Ichigo, not hollowfyed but wearing what was undoubtedly a hollow mask on his face.

Exhausted, the teen shinigami collapsed onto the ground. Shinji walked up to him and asked, "how ya feeling?"

Ichigo groaned, but somehow managed to turn his face up from the ground. Unexpectedly, he grinned weakly, "not bad"

Shinji allowed himself to grin as well,

"Good"

Ichigo then saw the hollow mask lying on the floor next to him, he weakly reached out and grabbed it, and brought it to his face.

'_If think you're starting become weak I'll reach up, drag you down, and smash open you head. Remember that, King.'_

Ichigo's smile widened, "sorry, but that's never going to happen."

(!(%*& #()%*& #()*%& ()%&)# (&*%() #%&)# %&&)%#& ))

Kuroda's limo pulled up by the Vizard warehouse and stopped, the back door popped open and Kuroda himself stepped on out.

"This will just take a moment," said Kuroda, "keep the engine running."

He then walked on in through the entrance and was greeted by the sound of multiple voices echoing out through the building. Seeing a flight of stairs, he traveled up onto the second floor and found the Vizard lounging around, going about their business as though there were nothing interesting or important happening.

"Hiyori, cook something up for me will you? Mashiro and Hachi still haven't come back with lunch and I'm hungry," complained Shinji as he lay on his side while reading a book,

"Screw you," replied the girl, "why the hell should I do any cooking for you, and even if I did cook something, I wouldn't give it to you, dumbass."

"Hey Love," called Rose as he opened a can of soda, "have you heard that new Prince of Darkness CD that just came out?"

"No, but have you read this week's Shonen Jump? It's hilarious!" replied Love with barely contained laugher,

"Of course I haven't, you never let me have a turn,"

"Lisa, have you seen my bandages?" asked Kensei, who was the only one actually walking around, "that Orange haired kid messed up my hand wrappings and I need new ones,"

"I don't know where it is, why the ask me?" she replied,

"You aren't even looking!"

"Yes I am,"

"No, you're just reading your stupid swimsuit model magazines,"

"Oh shut up and leave me alone!"

Kuroda let out a loud cough to catch their attention, Shinji looked up from his book,

"Oh! Hey there Kuroda! Didn't see you there,"

"Where's Ichigo?"

"He's sleeping," replied the blonde man as he walked over, "figured he deserved a rest after taming his hollow, it won't do him any good to overexert his body."

"He's done already?" asked Kuroda, genuinely surprised, "it's only been about 4 hours since I left you guys with him."

"Well yeah, but the process only takes an hour," explained Shinji,

"Oh, didn't know that,"

"Right, I almost forgot, you never underwent hollow taming like all of us did," said Shinji with a smirk, "always was special,"

"Hm, sometimes I wish I wasn't," Kuroda turned around and began to walk back towards the stairs, "I'll leave Ichigo in your capable hands, train him well and don't be afraid of pushing him too hard, he can take it."

"Kuroda!"

He stopped just in front of the stairs, he turned to see that it was Hiyori addressing him this time with most of the Vizard stopping what they were doing to watch.

"What is it?"

"None of us ever asked, how you got by without taming your hollow," said the young woman, "but I'm asking now, what happened to your hollow?"

Kuroda paused for a moment. It was strange, a hundred years ago, he would have told Hiyori to go off and play like a good little girl. But now that he saw her again, she wasn't the same small girl who'd been the lieutenant of the 12th division. Truth be told, by now she was more physically similar to a young adult woman, albeit a bit short.

But still, she had developed an hourglass figure and her breasts were more pronounced. She definitely was not the young girl he had know before.

100 years, had it really been that long?

"Are you going to answer or what?" asked Hiyori, snapping him out of his internal thoughts.

Kuroda sighed, "that's an easy question to answer."

He turned back to the stairs, "He jumped into a jungle that he thought he could conquer, but found out too late that he wasn't at the top of the food chain, and was consumed."

With that cryptic answer, Kuroda began his descent back down the stairs. Leaving the Vizard much to ponder.

"What did he mean by that?" asked Rose,

"Sounded like something from one of my magazines," commented Love,

"Do you always have to bring up your magazines?"

"I think what it meant," said Shinji, interrupting the argument, "is that Kuroda has something in his head, that's worse than a hollow."

Kuroda sat back into the limo and ordered Rajin to take him back home.

"Rough day?" asked Kaito from the passenger's seat,

"Yeah, I guess," replied Kuroda, "it's going to be a rough night too, I have a stupid business dinner. I hate business dinners."

"Why?"

"Because I have to pretend that I'm actually friendly to a bunch of penny pinching misers,"

"Oh come on," said Rajin, "surely the humans aren't all that bad."

"Pfft, live a couple years here and you'll see what I mean,"

It was a silent ride back home after that, when he arrived he immediately sprawled himself out on the couch and let out a loud sigh. Despite being of work, and having no mind attacks from his other self, Kuroda still felt like his head was being crushed in a vice.

Suddenly, a pair of hands clasped around his eyes.

"Guess who!"

"Let go of me you stupid cat,"

"Aw, you're no fun," said Yoruichi, uncovering his eyes to reveal her leaning over him, "so, how was work?"

"Meaningless,"

"Still in a rut huh? What am I going to have to do to get you out of it this time?" she teased,

"Leave me alone," he muttered, "I have enough annoying people to deal with today as it is"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You know how to cook right?" he asked, ignoring her question,

"Of course I do, I just like your cooking better,"

"Mm" Kuroda pinched the bridge of his nose,

"But, if you don't feel like cooking today, I can make dinner tonight," she threw in, seeing the stress weighing down on her friend.

"No, it's not that, it's just that I won't be around tonight. I have a business meeting, you're going to have to cook for Mei and yourself tonight," he explained,

"A dinner?"

"Yeah"

Yoruichi paused for a moment before asking, "can I come?"

"No" he immediately replied,

"Why not? Are all of your rich friends not allowed to take along their wives or something?"

Kuroda sighed, "They are allowed to bring along their wives, in fact they are encouraged to, but you are not my wife!"

"Not yet," she replied devilishly,

"Just because Mei wants you as her mother doesn't mean…never mind, I don't even know why I'm arguing this. You're not coming, it's hard enough that I have to deal with the humans, I don't need to deal with you on top of it."

"Well, then I'll just come along without your permission,"

"Ugh, can't you just do as I ask for once?" he growled, his anger was suddenly broken when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his back. Yoruichi placed her chin on his shoulder and put on her best sexy face,

"But I want to spend time with you," she whispered into his ear,

"That's not going to work this time," he warned, keeping his resolve strong. He quickly stood up from the couch, "besides, I need you to take care of Mei for me."

Kuroda began to walk up the stairs, "just for once, take no for an answer. I don't want you there at the dinner,"

Yoruichi's once bright face became one of clear sadness and even a bit of despair. If she had cat ears to go along with her already feline like appearance, they'd most likely be flattened by now. Kuroda forced himself not to look at her, "I'll be upstairs resting until I have to go."

Yoruichi didn't respond, instead opting to sit down on the couch and wait. When she heard the sound of his door closing, she let out a small sigh and pulled her knees into her chest. She silently rocked herself, trying to find some comfort in warming herself.

But none would come, she just felt, cold.

()(&%) #(*%& #)&%#)(&% (&% #()&%) #*&%) #%&*) #%*&)

When Kuroda came back down from his room, Yoruichi had fallen asleep upon the couch, that same look of despair etched onto her face. He tried not to think of it as he rode to the restaurant, Rajin said nothing as well.

They soon arrived, Kuroda exited and told Rajin to come back in two hours. Hopefully that was as long as this needed to take.

Taking a deep breath, making sure his clothes were in good condition, he slapped on his human mask and entered the restaurant.

The inside was sickeningly overdone, overhead on the ceiling that was much higher than it needed to be, hung dozens of bright chandeliers with small crystal like pieces dangling from its branches. The walls were painted a bright golden hue and carpet was a sharply contrasting dark red.

There were quite a few people inside, women with their hair all done up and wearing colorful dresses, men wearing tuxedos and suits. An orchestra was playing some music that Kuroda didn't recognize while waiters moved around the maze of tables and chairs to cater to the customer's every whim.

It made Kuroda want to smack his head against a rock. But instead, he slapped on a fake smile and tried to look like he was having fun.

"Kuroda! Over here!" called a voice,

He turned to see one of his executives waving to him, a portly man with greying hair named Hojo. He sat with his wife, who was much younger than him, at the table that the rest of those invited were sitting at.

Kuroda pretended to look happy and walked over with an exaggerated swing in his shoulders.

"Hey there everyone, I'm glad to see you all got started without me," he said, gesturing to the wine they all had in their cups.

"Ah, no we just got it right now," assured Hojo,

"Yeah, we could never start without you," said Imagawa, another one of his executives, this one middle aged with an appropriately aged wife, "how could we do anything without out are miracle working CEO?"

"Well, I wouldn't say miracle working," said Kuroda a smirk on his face as he took his seat at the head of the table, "but…I am pretty good."

"I saw that limo you've been riding around in," said Hojo, "quite a nice piece of work that one, I've been thinking of getting myself one as well, got any suggestions?"

'Yeah, don't buy one at all you fat pig. They're a waste of money,' he said in his head, but his lips spoke, "well if you really want to show the world what's in your wallet, I suggest getting the Hummer model, it's a bit of a gas guzzler but that shouldn't be a problem with people like you and I."

"Ha! You've got that right!"

Kuroda wanted to scowl, but forced himself not to.

"You really out did yourself this time Kuroda," said one of his general managers, a young man named Kiosho, "with the amount of bank we've got rolling in, maybe I can get another house. I'm thinking the United States."

"Maybe you can buy yourself a girlfriend too!" cracked Kuroda,

The whole table burst out in laughter, Kuroda threw in his best fake laugh into their roars.

"Well, I have met this one girl at this one club," admitted Kiosho, "bought her a nice necklace, fell right into my lap, if you know what I mean."

"Oh yeah?" asked Kuroda, "how is she?"

"Oh she's real great, gotten better after I gave her the money to get some work done on herself,"

Kuroda smiled, though on the inside he felt revolted. Was that all that girl was to Kiosho? Just an object for him to play around with and pretty up so he could have a better time looking at her?

"What about you Kuroda, you meet any nice girls?" asked Imagawa, "with the money you've got, you must've drawn some girls by now"

"Well, maybe a few," he lied, "but I don't know if I want to get married, after all, I enjoy the ability to sample what I want every now and then."

The charade went on for the remaining two hours Kuroda was there. When it was over, Kuroda almost ran to his limo. The moment he got in he ordered Rajin to take him back home.

"That was awful," he groaned, "I'm glad I don't need to go through that too often."

"Sir, if you hate the job so much, why don't you just quit?" asked Rajin,

"The connections this job affords me are too good to let go just because I don't want to sit with those pigs for two hours," replied Kuroda,

"As you say sir," a long silence hung before Rajin said, "sir, while you were at the dinner, I went back to the apartments and ran into Yoruichi."

Kuroda tensed slightly, "and?"

"She seemed a bit…upset, sir. Did something happen?"

"No"

"You're not a very good liar sir,"

"It's none of your business Rajin," said Kuroda, "she just wanted to come to the stupid dinner and I didn't let her, that's all."

"Why not?"

"How could I?" was Kuroda's immediate response, "how could I let her mingle with those animals? Those disgusting slobs. One of them has a wife that's more in love with his wallet than she is with him, the other is on his 5th wife, another doesn't even marry and instead uses the girl a play toy. Don't even get me started on the others."

"And I have to pretend I actually enjoy their company, I couldn't expose her to that."

"I understand sir, we are Black Ops, we sacrifice our happiness so that others don't have to."

"Exactly," said Kuroda, recognizing his own words. The rest of the ride was in silence. Rajin dropped Kuroda off then went to park the limo.

It was 8:40 PM when Kuroda arrived, he sluggishly made his way to his room and entered to find the lights still on. He heard the sound of the TV, which he'd recently upgraded to a flat screen for Mei, being watched.

He found Mei sitting down in front of the TV, watching some strange cartoon about ninja.

"Hey Dad!" she called,

"Hello Mei, shouldn't you be in bed right now?" he asked,

"In a minute, my show is almost over," she replied

"Where's Yoruichi?"

"Mm, I think she said that she'd be staying at Kisuke's tonight so that they could work on a project together,"

"Oh, I see," he said, a small pang striking what was supposed to be his heart.

"She seemed a little sad, did something happen?"

"No Mei," he lied, "going to sleep, good night,"

"Good night,"

Despite his words, Kuroda did not go to sleep right away. In fact he lay in his bed wide awake until he heard Mei go to bed. When he was sure that she was asleep, he left his room in favor of the couch in the living room.

There he sat, cheek in palm.

He wasn't too sure why he was unable to sleep this night. Perhaps it was simply the fact that he'd been next to his coworkers for an uncomfortably long amount of time, perhaps it was simply the fact that he had still been unable to find a way to defeat his other, most likely it was because of Yoruichi.

He'd hoped that after Soul Society, all problems between them would vanish. He'd let go of his grudge against her for leaving for so long, and she now knew most of his secrets. But, something still nagged on him, something still bothered him when she left his apartment in favor of Kisuke's shop.

Kuroda realized that Kisuke's lack of mental problems probably made living with him favorable to living here.

Kuroda sighed.

Yoruichi was his friend, quite possibly his very best friend. He'd known her longer than anyone else, that relationship had had its bumps and during the century of exile it had been fractured, but it was now mended. But now that Kuroda took a step back, it felt like it had been mended with duck-tape.

Needless to say, he didn't sleep at all that night.

**A/N**

**Hey guys, sorry that I haven't updated in a while but I've been real busy with school. My classmates told me that this year was supposed to be lax, but its proving to be pretty time consuming, probably because I took two of the hardest classes offered, ugh.**

**But, I managed to get his chapter out to you guys. I hope you liked it, you probably noticed that I changed Ichigo's fight with his Hollow a bit, hope you're all okay with that.**

**Also yes, Kuroda and Yoruichi are going through some relationship problems *Gasp!*. Yeah, their time in Soul Society mended their friendship, but it didn't solve everything.**

**Probably going to be an extra amount of angst in the coming chapters, I know some people don't like angst but admit it, it makes the story suspenseful and fun to read, in a special kind of way.**

**Also yes, in my story, Hiyori looks more mature. My reason behind this is pretty simple, when we saw the Pendulum Arc, we saw Byakuya as a teenager. After 100 years, he became a full adult. Hiyori 100 years ago looked a bit younger but around the same ball park, yet after 100 years, she didn't change much at all. That just bothers me, so in this story, she will be referred to more as a young adult since she looked to be a bit younger than Bykuya.**

**I'm not sure when I'll be able to do my next chapter, probably not for a while, sorry.**

**But I will try to get to it as soon as possible.**

**On a side note, I'd like you to go to my profile and vote on the poll that I have up. Based upon the results, I will be choosing a new mini project to take on. Kind of like how I did with my Mass Effect/ Predator story, just a little something that isn't as major to work on every now and then when I can't update this story.**

**I'd really appreciate that, thanks.**

**Please review, favorite, and subscribe!**

**OC submissions for fraccion Arrancar are still open**

**Bye Bye!**


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

Kuroda sat on the cold, hard, lifeless earth of the Graveyard that surrounded him, the cool hollow air chilled his bare skin as he stared up into the fiery inferno above him. It looked especially frightening this time, the flames stretched out farther causing the vortex to look larger. The gaping void in the middle where no flames touched seemed to purposefully center above his view.

It was horrid, but peaceful.

"Do you remember?" asked a voice,

The shinigami turned his view from the sky and settled on the spirit of his zanpaktou standing next to him, its hidden face undoubtedly bearing a smirk.

"Remember what?" Kuroda asked back,

"Remember what you were like long ago? How different you were?"

After a moment, Kuroda responded, "I try not to, I don't like to focus on the past."

"Indeed, but is that because you wish to look at the future or simply because the past is something you regret?"

"Pick one"

AnShen chuckled darkly, "I don't think I ever told you, but the moment you were brought into Soul Society, I was immediately linked to you."

Kuroda looked up expectantly,

"Zanpaktou and shinigami are two parts of the same soul, one is not complete without the other. I was always a part of you,"

"So what if you were?" asked Kuroda, not seeing the point,

"If I told you that all the problems you had today, all the hate, all the blood, all the death, was my fault, what would you say? Would you blame me? Would you shun me? Would you toss me into the deepest abyss you could possibly find and leave me there rust away?"

"If I blamed you," said Kuroda, standing up, "then I would in essence be blaming myself. Like you said, we are two parts of the same, anything that is yours to blame is also mine, and I already blame myself for everything."

AnShen chuckled again, amused by his master's logic.

"Well played," he said, clapping his hands mockingly, "you deflect the question yet you don't. That's what I always liked about you: your ability to deny."

"Don't you have something else better to do? Like eats some souls or something?"

"Later, right now I'm enjoying myself too much,"

"Hmph, good for you," said Kuroda as he began to walk away,

"Oh," AnShen swiftly moved himself in front of Kuroda again, "walking away, just like you do with everything."

"Leave me alone," growled Kuroda, pushing past his zanpaktou,

"I wonder if you remember what you wanted when you were young, when you first became a shinigami,"

Kuroda stopped a few feet behind AnShen, "I wanted to help people, but that was before I realized how futile of a task that was."

"And yet you surround yourself with those that you deem hopeless,"

"A man can't help but breathe smoke when he'd in a burning house," Kuroda shot back,

"Then you equate this world, this universe, to a burning house," said AnShen, "but I wonder if you truly believe that."

"What would you call it?"

"I wouldn't call it anything, I would simply refer to it as it is. A world with some bad and some good,"

"That's a nice thought, but that good, is smeared with bad,"

"Perhaps, but what does that make you? The righteous crusader? Above the evils of the common man?"

Kuroda whipped around, "did I say I was righteous?! I am anything but, I know my evil, but it is necessary evil."

"Now you sound like those you criticize,"

Kuroda bit his lip, after a long pause, he finally ask, "what are you trying to say?"

The spirit shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not sure myself, perhaps I am trying to help you, perhaps I am trying to drive you insane. I don't know. All I know is that when you know you're evil, it's better to surround yourself with those that are good than to seclude yourself entirely."

Kuroda rolled his eyes, even his zanpaktou was lecturing him. Who was next, Mei?

"You think of me like a rebellious son thinks of his scolding father, how very hilarious," chuckled AnShen, the spirit seemed to look past a scowling Kuroda, "as fun as this has been, it seems that our fun must come to an end."

Kuroda furrowed his eyebrows, confused. AnShen pointed a finger, gesturing behind the man. Kuroda turned around, and came face to face with someone he had really hoped he wouldn't have to see this time around.

"**Remember me?"**

( ()*%& #)(*%& )(&%) #&%)(%& )#(%&()#%&*#)#%&*)

Yoruichi had come back late last night, very late. Late enough that when she had returned, Kuroda had finally succumbed to sleep on the couch, his cheek resting upon his knuckles.

She had been concerned at first, but decided to leave him alone. That's what he seemed to want after all, to be left alone. With that thought, she had climbed into bed and fallen asleep herself.

Early in the morning, her sparse sleep was interrupted by loud pained moaning. She instantly identified the voice as Kuroda's, Yoruichi tore off her covers and hurried with all speed down stairs. There she was confronted with a scene of Kuroda, who had fallen on the floor, gagging on some unseen force.

She quickly rushed to his side and shook him, "Kuroda, wake up!"

The man coughed violently then began to let out strangled coughs once again,

"Kuroda!" she shook him harder but still he would not wake,

( #*%( #%()*& #%)&%) #&% )&%)#%& )#&% )

"**Look at you, so weak, it makes me sick,"** spat Kuroda's doppleganger as he pressed his barefoot down harder upon Kuroda's throat.

Kuroda, weak as a child when compared to his other self, was powerless to retaliate.

"**I'm not free enough to kill you just yet,"** said the clone, **"but I'm just loose enough to make you suffer"**

The doppleganger lifted his foot off of Kuroda's throat, allowing for the man to breath for a brief moment. Then he kicked Kuroda in the stomach, sending him tumbling through a dozen gravestones before coming to a violent stop.

Kuroda weakly attempted to push himself back up but found himself unable to do so, the pain wracking his body was absolutely unimaginable. It felt like someone was inside of his stomach with a chainsaw hacking away at anything that looked fleshy.

A loud cough burst from his mouth along with a glob of blood, Kuroda panted heavily.

"**So weak"**

Kuroda looked up to see his other already upon him, a foot came down on his back and shoved him into the ground.

"**Why is it that I am the one chained up and you are the one with control? Why did you reject me when I am such a large part of you?"**

"Maybe, I just, don't, like psychopaths," Kuroda said weakly,

The Other scowled and placed his foot on the back of Kuroda's head.

"**Just a little more and I could crush your skull like an egg, but that damn seal holds me back. Still, it'll be fun to try,"**

Kuroda suddenly began to feel an enormous pressure push down on his head, it was long before the pressure was so large that it became painful. He gritted his teeth, not wanting to give the Other the satisfaction of hearing him scream.

The Other pushed down harder and harder, his head felt like it was going to burst.

"**Come on, scream!"**

And Kuroda did, the pain was too much even for him. He bellowed a heart wrenching scream, the world began to shake as it sensed its owner begin to fade. Gravestones crumbled, the ground split, the flaming vortex above flared, and the Other simply laughed.

"**Hahahaha! If it's this much fun to try, I wonder what the real thing will be like!"**

The Other raised his foot one last time and brought it down.

( #*%&) #(*%&) #(*&%)( #*&*()&% #)%& )#*%& #)&)

Kuroda's eyes suddenly shot open, he felt hands on his body and immediately attempted to escape their hold on him.

"Kuroda!"

In his panicked state Kuroda did not recognize the voice, he pushed himself away and fell onto the floor, barely catching himself with his hands. His throat erupted with haggard coughing as he attempted to pull himself together, adrenaline was rushing through his veins, his heart pumped at a thousand miles an hour.

He tried to focus on the white carpet beneath him, to try to steady his mind. Gradually his heart began to slow and his mind began to become less muddled.

Kuroda felt a hand touch his shoulder, against his cold skin the warmth the hand brought with it was welcome.

"Are you alright?" he heard a voice ask,

Kuroda managed to raise his eyes to see Yoruichi standing above him a concerned look on her face. Still panting, Kuroda lowered his gaze back to the ground before asking, "what are you doing here?"

Yoruichi was taken aback by the question, "what do you mean?"

"I thought you'd be at Kisuke's," he explained, pushing himself up. Still weak, he nearly stumbled back down but was quickly steadied by Yoruichi. Kuroda, for whatever reason, pushed away her help and sat himself down on the couch.

He stuck a finger in his mouth, when he pulled it out it was covered in blood.

"Lovely," he muttered,

"What's going on?" asked Yoruichi, "nightmares I can understand, but nightmares that make you bleed? That's something else entirely."

"it's nothing," Kuroda assured her, "you don't need to worry yourself about it,"

"You know, I'm pretty sure that's the 5th time you've said something like that,"

"Maybe that's because it's true,"

Yoruichi scowled, obviously not believing Kuroda in the slightest. A long silence followed with neither of the two willing to budge, finally Yoruichi broke the stalemate, "Fine"

Kuroda furrowed his brows, "Fine?"

"Fine" she repeated, "if you don't want me getting involved, then I won't."

Kuroda's eyes widened with surprise, he hadn't expected her to go this way, in fact he was waiting for her to break up the tension with a joke or by claiming that she would continue trying to help him regardless of what he said. This, was different.

"I'll leave you to fix whatever your problem is," she told him, heading back up the stairs.

Kuroda sat on the couch, unmoving until he heard Yoruichi's door quietly close. His surprise eventually flowed away, nothing came forward to replace it. Kuroda brought a hand around his face.

He had asked for this, she was just finally doing what he asked her to do: leave him alone. With a sigh and heavy heart, Kuroda stood up and began to make breakfast. He had just finished setting it out on the table for Mei when she woke when a knock came from the door.

Kuroda promptly answered it and found Captain Hitsugaya looking up at him, his ever serious face present.

"You're home, good, we need to talk,"

"Aren't you supposed to getting ready for school or something?"

Hitsugaya immediately lost his cool, "Don't treat me like a kid!"

"Alright, alright, just calm down, let me get dressed, you can come in if you like,"

Hitsugaya nodded though he was still obviously steamed from Kuroda's remark. Kuroda quickly went upstairs and changed into a white shirt, a semi formal blue long sleeve and a pair of jeans. As he exited his room, he noticed that Yoruichi's door was open. He went to close it, not wanting her to be disturbed by their talking, but noticed that a small draft was coming out of the room.

He opened the door just a bit more, but it was just enough for him to see that the window was open. Kuroda turned his eyes to the bed and found its sheets empty. She had left, most likely to Kisuke's shop.

'She can do what she wants' he told himself, but that didn't make the pain any easier.

He silently shut the door and walked back down stairs.

When he arrived, he found that Kaito and Rajin had arrived as well.

"Hey Commander!" greeted Kaito with an informal salute, "have fun last night?"

Kuroda didn't respond, he simply sat down on the couch across from Hitsugaya, "what did you bring us to talk about?"

"I have news from Soul Society," said the young Captain, "Captains Shunsui and Ukitake were doing some research on Aizen's activities before he betrayed Soul Society,"

Kuroda was now fully engaged in the discussion.

"What did they find?" asked Rajin,

"They found Aizen's real goal, what he's building an army for," said Hitsugaya, "he wants the Oken, he Key to the Royal Palace of the Spirit King,"

A chill spread out through all three black operation members,

"I should have known," muttered Kuroda,

"The Oken, with that he could get into the Royal Palace, but what does he plan to do then? Murder the Spirit King?" asked Rajin,

"That's our belief, it would make sense given what we've heard Aizen say before leaving," replied Hitsugaya,

"But the Oken's location isn't known to anyone but the Captain Commander and there's no way Captain Commander Yamamoto would ever give up the location of the key,"

"No, but there is another way," said Kaito, everyone turned to him, "another Oken can be forged with only 100,000 souls and a piece of spirit-enriched land with a radius of half a spirit-mile."

Rajin raised an eyebrow,

"I read too," Kaito said defensively,

"He wants to be Spirit King," interrupted Kuroda, "of course he does, I should have seen it before,"

"The Captain Commander asked be to tell you this and to ask you if you might know why,"

"Why what?" Kuroda almost snapped,

"Why he wants to murder the Spirit King,"

Kuroda let out a long sigh, "I'm afraid I can't help you there, I don't understand Aizen's motives any better than anyone else. I'm sorry,"

Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed, he must have sensed that Kuroda was not telling the whole truth. Even so, the Captain decided to let the issue rest until later, "very well then, your orders from the Captain Commander are to prepare for the coming battle, we will need every able body we can get."

Kuroda nodded, "Is that all,"

Hitsugaya nodded, "I'll take my leave"

The young Captain left without another word, but took one last look at the mysterious man. He would definitely be reporting this.

When Hitsugaya finally left, Kaito was the first to break the silence, "were you telling the truth?"

"What's your opinion Rajin?" asked Kuroda, ignoring the question,

"Well, if Aizen really is going after the Soul King, that would explain the Arrancar. The Zero Squad is no push over, I doubt even Aizen could stand up to them for very long," replied Rajin, "didn't they offer you a chance to join once?"

"Join and Command," replied Kuroda, "but that was then, when I was strong, this is now and I'm weak."

"Now don't say that, you did pretty well against Captain Commander Yamamoto, and you lived too, not a lot of people can say that," tried Kaito,

Kuroda sighed, obviously not convinced, "still…when do you two switch with the next team?"

"Just three more days," replied Rajin

"You told me we had a month," said a surprised Kaito,

"I did that so that I wouldn't have to hear you complain"

"I have a date with Rangiku next week!"

"Reschedule"

"Alright you two, enough" said Kuroda "Kaito, I need you to leave, Rajin, we talk, now"

"Yes sir,"

"See you guys later," said Kaito, who was all too happy to leave work.

When Kaito had finally left the room, Kuroda began to speak, "when you get back to Soul Society, you'll be in charge, is that alright with you?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"I know you don't like taking the leadership role Rajin, its why you were still the Lieutenant when I came back," replied Kuroda,

"I'll be fine, Itsumi helped a lot and Teruno gives good advice," assured Rajin,

Kuroda gave his Lieutenant a blank stare,

"Alright, maybe I'm a bit uncomfortable with it but I'll find some way,"

"Good, your dismissed,"

Rajin nodded and left, leaving Kuroda by himself once again.

"_Do you ask because you are actually concerned, or because you know you won't be leader for much longer?"_

'Get the hell out of my thoughts'

"_They're my thoughts as well, you might as well as yourself to stop thinking entirely"_

'I can think of many ways to make that happen'

For a brief moment, the voice was quiet.

'Cat got your tongue?'

"_You and I both know you could never pull it off, as much as you hate life, you love it just enough to want to cling to it."_

Kuroda flinched, he was just about to strike back when the sound of steps coming down the stairs interrupted his little conversation.

"Hey Dad," said Mei as she stifled a yawn, she sniffed the air, "breakfast, yay!"

The young girl quickly hurried down and sat down at the table. Before she began to eat, she noticed that her father was not joining her at the table.

"Dad? Is everything okay?"

"Yes Mei," he lied, "everything is fine"

( (*%& #()%&*) #%&)&% )#%&)%& )#%&() #&)*(%& #)

Soul Society the next day

Teruno sat at Lieutenant Takeda's desk, dutifully and silently filing out the daily paper work and neatly organizing them into separate piles for delivery. To his side, 5th seat Itsumi Ryou aided him by handing him papers from the rather large stack of forms to be filled out.

"Here's the expenses from the division's daily needs," she said, handing him the paper,

He grunted in reply and signed the paper, then placed it in the appropriate pile.

"Here is the file for the expense of the division's own personal usage," she continued, handing him another paper,

Again he grunted and signed,

"Heh, here is the expense of Kaito's usage," she said, chuckling at the fact that Kaito had his own separate form.

"How much did he spend this time?" asked Teruno, finally breaking his silence. Itsumi handed him the form for him to see, when he read his lips formed a deep scowl, "it's amazing 3rd seat Shibata has any money left after spending it on so much alcohol and…clothing?"

"Oh, that's probably for his girlfriend Rangiku, he takes her shopping all the time,"

"He, enjoys spending money on clothes for her?"

"Yeah, I think he likes seeing her put on outfits," explained the 5th seat,

"Hmm, what's next?"

"This…hmm?"

"Is something the matter?" asked Teruno,

"I think this is for you," she finally said, handing him a sealed envelope that had his name written on it. Teruno recognized the seal as the one only the Commander of their division used, it bore the character 黒, Kuroi, black.

He carefully broke the seal and took out the letter inside.

Immediately his eyes narrowed and his lips formed a hard scowl. It was clear just from looking that the 4th seat was greatly disturbed by what he read.

"What does it say?" asked Itsumi,

"It would seem that there was an attack on Karakura recently," said Teruno, "and Kuroda was badly injured,"

Though she tried to hide it, Teruno saw Itsumi flinch.

"But it says that he recovered quickly thanks to that human girl, Orihime,"

Itsumi noticeably relaxed, relieved to hear that her son would be alright.

"But that is not what disturbs me," continued Teruno, "it is what follows,"

He handed it to Itsumi so that she could read for herself, a few moments passed and her face became one of shock. Her eyes passed over the letter again to be sure that she had not misread.

"He…he can't be serious! Can he?" she asked,

"The Commander is always serious when giving out orders like this, I suppose we shouldn't be truly surprised, with war coming, we will need all the bodies we can throw at Aizen" sighed the 4th seat, "go get the paper work."

( #*&%)( #*%&)(* &#%)&%) #*&%) #*&%) #&%)&%) #&%*)

**3 days later**

Kuroda had just woken up from his latest confrontation with his deranged twin, lately his neck had been becoming very sore from getting stepped on all the time.

"I really wish he'd stop doing that," he muttered, tasting blood in his mouth for the third time.

He was beginning to lose sleep over the matter, every day he'd try to stay up as long as possible. But eventually he'd fall to slumber and when that happened he'd involuntarily be sent to his inner world. Kuroda believed that it was AnShen who was continuously doing this to him, it seemed like something the spirit would do and Kuroda suspected he liked the Other more than him.

Worse, Kuroda still hadn't figured out a plan on how to fix this problem. Perhaps this was just him getting his due, perhaps this was just what happened to people like him.

"Another killer dream?"

Kuroda turned himself to see Yoruichi on the stairs, looking down at him.

"What do you want?"

For the past few days, Yoruichi had not said much to him beyond the usual greetings and goodbyes. It seemed that she had decided to do exactly what he wanted and more. She cut off all communication to him, they barely saw each other anymore.

Was reinitiating contact?

"What are you still doing here?" he asked, abrasively, "you're usually out by this time."

Yoruichi cast her eyes down, she walked down the steps and sat down next to Kuroda.

"I guess that's why I can't keep up the silent treatment."

"If this is some new strategy to get me to reveal what my problem is, it's not going to work," warned Kuroda,

Yoruichi glared at Kuroda with anger filled eyes, "you're an idiot"

Kuroda was taken aback by the simple three, yet quite blunt words. He was surprised that Yoruichi had insulted him and actually sounded like she meant it. But his surprise quickly faded and he replied, "I suppose I am."

"A selfish, pigheaded idiot," she added,

"yeah," he agreed,

"Who lies to everyone," she finished,

"I don't lie to you," he shot back

"No, you don't, you just withhold information from everyone around you," she snapped, "and when you're finally in trouble, no one knows how or why because you never saw fit to entrust us with what you know."

Kuroda rolled his eyes and turned away, so she had stopped being silent, just to insult him, refreshing.

"Whatever," he replied,

"Whatever? That's all you're going to say?"

"Yes," he replied, swallowing down the last of the blood in his mouth, "look, no point in trying a new approach. I'm not telling you what's going on and that's that. Best get over it and move on with life. We have more important things to do then worry about my stupid problem."

"Kuroda, if your 'stupid problem' is as bad as I think it is, then it is one of the important things," Yoruichi said sardonically, "seriously, how stupid can you be, hiding something like this from people!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Kuroda, standing up and moving towards the stairs, "and keep your voice down, Mei is still sleeping."

"Kuroda come back here, I'm not done talking,"

"If its going to be more insults, I think you can stop here," said Kuroda taking the first step up,

"Kuroda I know what's wrong with you,"

Kuroda snorted, taking another step, "yeah right,"

"Kisuke told me!"

He froze, his feet did not move, his eyes became glued open and his expression was forever one of fear, fear of what was now dawning upon him.

"Kisuke told me," repeated Yoruichi, "I know what killing your father did to you."

Kuroda slowly turned his gaze to Yoruichi, her eyes had now shifted from anger to pleading. She was pleading with him, to finally open up. But there would be no such thing, there would be no peace for Kuroda any longer.

He had kept his secret from Yoruichi for so long, to now know that it was no longer a secret was shattering. Now she knew what kind of monster he was, now she knew what he had become. Was that why she spent more time with Kisuke now? She didn't want to be near him? Did she simply stay with him and tease him out of some sort of pity?

Kuroda's face began to shift from shock to rage. Clenching his teeth, Kuroda asked one clarifying question, "he did what?"

"He told me," repeated Yoruichi, "he told me that killing your father broke you inside and that now you have all these different personalities running around your head and-"

Yoruichi never got to finish her sentence, because Kuroda suddenly jumped out of his gigai, popping into his shinigami form, and leapt right through the walls and out into town. Yoruichi quickly went to the window and saw Kuroda leaping across the roof tops, going towards the direction that Kisuke's store lay.

Fearing the worst, Yoruichi rushed out the door and hurriedly found Kaito's room. She loudly slammed her fist on the door, when Kaito did not answer. She knocked again this time with enough force that splinters flew off the door.

The door opened immediately after, revealing a still tired Kaito.

"Yoruichi? Look if this if you've come to complain about the noise too, I promise that me and Rangiku will keep it down,"

"What? No, I'm not here about that! You've got to get Rajin and head over to Kisuke's shop right now!"

"It's a bit early to be doing-"

"Kuroda is going to kill Kisuke!"

"What?" asked Kaito, eyes wide, "I think you might be exaggerating just a-"

"Look I don't have time to explain right now, but Kisuke told me what Kuroda's problem was, then I told Kuroda that I knew and then he freaked out and-"

"You did what?!" without bothering to close the door, Kaito rushed back into his room,

"Hurry!" she called.

Before long, both Kaito and Rajin's reiatsu signals faded away as they sped after their Commander.

For a moment, Yoruichi was tempted to go herself. She was the fastest after all and would probably get there before either of them. But in truth she couldn't bring herself to go even if she tried, one could only take so much failure before they gave up entirely.

Yoruichi had failed too many times now, she walked back to her room and lay down on her bed. Kuroda was out of her hands now.

( #()*&%) (#*&%)( &#*%() &*#%)*&#%) &%) *#&%)

Kuroda leapt across roof top to roof top with the singular purpose of finding Kisuke and confronting Kisuke about why the hell he had told Yoruichi about his condition. This was ridiculous! He'd been doing a fine job of keeping things under wraps, but Kisuke had to open his big mouth and let out every single little secret about Kuroda's life! Completely unacceptable!

He might not even get the chance to question Kisuke because he might just greet the man by pulverizing him into a bloody pulp. A hand crept onto the handle of AnShen at his side as thoughts of perhaps even slicing the man's head off came into his mind.

Kuroda shook his head, no, no matter how angry he was he would not harm Kisuke, at least not permanently.

With his great speed it was long before the shinigami found himself in the desolate front yard of Kisuke's shop. He made no move to hide his presence as he stomped up to the front door. He threw it open and yelled out, "Kisuke!"

But was confronted only with the sight of Ururu sweeping the floor, Jinta dusting the counter tops, and a man who he recognized as Byakuya's Lieutenant lounging around on the floor. Of course all of them turned away from the respective activities to stare at him.

"Oh, hey emo!" called Jinta, returning to his duties,

"Hello ," Ururu respectively bowed,

"Ururu," he said, turning to the only responsible person in the shop, "where is Kisuke?"

"Mr. Urahara is out with Tessai and Chad, getting a few things and running a few errands, they won't be back for a while."

Kuroda let out a low murderous growl, his hand clenched AnShen's handle even tighter till his knuckles became white.

"I guess," he managed to push out, "that I'll just have to wait here…till he returns."

With that said, he slammed the entry shut, sat down, and leaned against the front door.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today," he heard that lieutenant whisper,

"Mr. Ryou has very good hearing, he probably heard you," warned Ururu, he then heard Renji let out a remorseful groan.

Kuroda ignored their idiotic chatter and focused himself on looking at the ground in front of him. When that did not suffice in entertaining him, he took AnShen off of his belt and held it out in front of him. Using his thumb he flicked the weapon by the crosspiece, causing it to expose a few inches of its blade. Then he let it fall back down and repeated the process.

He entertained himself like this for another two minutes, before he sense two other beings approaching. The Commander of Black recognized them as his two subordinates. No doubt Yoruichi asked them to go after him.

Kuroda scowled, at the moment he would have liked nothing more than to be left alone. Silently he hoped that something would diver their attention, like an Arrancar attack or something.

Unexpectedly his prayers were answered, only seconds after he had made the silent wish, three strong reiatsu signatures made themselves known above Karakura town.

Kuroda squinted his eyes as he focused in on the three beings. They were definitely hollow, most likely Arrancar judging from their power. Two were about the level of a lieutenant, while the third was a degree higher but not quite strong enough to be considered a match for even the weakest Captain.

As luck would have it, Rajin and Kaito took notice as well and changed the direction of their movement to intercept the three invaders.

Kuroda closed his eyes, the Arrancar threat would be dealt with easily enough, leaving him free to wait for Kisuke's return.

Unfortunately this time, he was wrong.

( #%& #()%&*) #&(*%()*&%() #&%)#&%) #&%) #&%)&% #)&% )

"Ugh, Yoruichi is going to kill us for this," groaned Kaito as he and his lieutenant hopped towards the Arrancar.

"This takes precendent," reminded Rajin, "I'm sure the Commander won't do anything irrational, but we can't think of that right now, we have to deal with this."

"Can't we just leave this to the advance team? Isn't that what they're there for?"

"They are, but we've got orders this time, capture,"

"Capture?"

"Capture," repeated Rajin, "the Commander wants intel on Aizen's forces, what better way than from the mouth of an-"

Rajin suddenly paused, "one of them is breaking off,"

"He's headed in the Commander's direction," noted Kaito,

"Then our orders are simple, neutralize the threat, the Commander can take care of the capture"

( (#*%)#( %&* #()&*%()&#%) #*&%)&*%) (#&%)(#&%) #%&)

Back at Urahara's shop, Kuroda was still flicking AnShen out of its sheath then letting it slide back in. He flicked it up, then let it fall. Flicked it up, then let it fall. Flicked it up, then let it fall.

He paused and raised his eyes from the ground.

"It would seem that someone doesn't want me to be bored,"

(#%( &#%() &*#%)*& %()*&#%() &#*%() *&%)&%& #%& )#%&)

"**Sit Upon The Frozen Heavens: Hyorimaru!"**

The Captain of the 10th let loose a massive flow of ice shaped into the form of a long serpent like dragon. It flew at the Arrancar, but was defeated when the Arrancar used its long tentacle like appendages to smash the ice flow.

Laughing the Arrancar retaliated with an attack of his own, Hitsugaya realized too late that he had let his guard down.

But the blow was suddenly deflected,

"Matsumoto!"

"I have your back Captain!" she said from in front of him,

Not too far away, the 3rd seat of the 11th squad, Madarame Ikkaku was battling one on one with another Arrancar, one whose release state had gained him six hinged appendages on his back, which he was currently using to block Ikkaku's attacks.

"Yumichika, I'll take this one," said Ikkaku,

"Again?" asked the 5th seat, "when are you going to let me have some fun?"

"Sorry, I just…huh?"

A new presence made itself known on the battlefield. Ikkaku and Yumichika traced it skywards and saw a lone figure drop down in front of them.

"Stand down 3rd seat Madarame, its our turn to have a bit of fun," said the newcomer,

"Hey, you're one of those black ops guys! What the hell are you doing here?"

"We've got orders," replied Rajin, "please stand back,"

"What?! No way! This is my fight! I'm not gonna let some glasses wearing stuck up-"

"Shut up and step back," interrupted Rajin, rolling up his sleeve, "this will only take a moment,"

"Why you-"

"Ikkaku," interrupted Yumichika, "I think we better do what he says,"

"What? Why?"

"Well he does have a high rank than us,"

Ikkaku growled, defeated by logic.

Rajin, satisfied that the 3rd seat would not interfere, continued rolling up the sleeve of his left arm.

"Who the hell are you?" growled the Arrancar,

"A shinigami," replied Rajin,

"Hmph, you're foolish to face me alone," said the Arrancar, "I could have taken on all three of you if I wanted, are you trying to get yourself killed or something?"

"No," said Rajin, his sleeve now completely rolled up, "but I think that you'll find that I'm more than a match for you."

Rajin reached up onto his bicep, where a single black leather band had been placed. With a small click, the band came off.

Nearby, Kaito had similarly interrupted Rangiku and Captain Hitsugaya's fight against their Arrancar. He too had rolled up his sleeve and had his fingers around his band's release.

"Hey, Arrancar," said the 3rd seat as he walked towards his opponent,

"What?"

"That was my girlfriend you just tried to kill,"

"What about it?"

"Well you see, I don't really like people threatening her or trying to kill her," explained Kaito, "so I'm afraid I'm going to have to rip your arms out with my bare hands as your punishment."

"Ha! I'd like to see you try!" taunted the Arrancar,

Kaito smiled, with a small click, his band came off. The results were instant, Kaito's true power surged forward and staggered the Arrancar immediately.

Without warning Kaito was suddenly in front of the Arrancar, their faces only inches apart. With a sadistic smile on his face, Kaito backhanded the Arrancar.

The single, seemingly harmless blow, sent the Arrancar spiraling through the air like a living missile.

"Hm, a bit too hard," mused the 3rd seat,

Rajin, his own power now at full, casually walked towards his opponent, who was now having second thoughts about fighting the Lieutenant.

Hastily, the Arrancar formed a Cero with its mouth. Rajin saw the attack but made no move to stop his pace forward.

Unnerved, the Arrancar fired the Cero at Rajin. The Lieutenant saw the attack coming and held out his hand, the red beam of light struck his open palm but did no harm. Rajin continued to hold it until the Arrancar finally stopped firing, he then tossed it into the air where it harmlessly exploded.

By now Rajin was only a meter away from the Arrancar. Quickly, his opponent covered himself with his six appendages in an attempt to protect himself.

"Ha! See if you can get through my impenetrable defense!" taunted the Arrancar,

Rajin simply reached out and touched the shell, he applied a bit of pressure, and the shell cracked.

"What the-!"

Rajin applied a bit more, and the appendage shattered entirely.

"N-no way!"

With Kaito, the man simply stood still as his opponent attempted to kill him. The tentacle like appendages rained down on him and he willingly accepted every blow, blocking effortlessly with his arms.

"Die! Die! Die!" growled the Arrancar,

Kaito simply smiled tauntingly, "how pathetic, barely worth the effort."

Without warning, he turned his hand and caught on of the appendages. The Arrancar attempted to get Kaito to release, but the man's hands were like a vice and would not yield.

"Say good bye to hand number one!" announced Kaito and without further ado, literally ripped the Arrancar's arm from its socket. Blood gushed out from his enemy's enormous wound and the air was suddenly filled with screaming.

Kaito carelessly tossed the still wiggling appendage away, "Get ready for number two"

( #(*%& )#(*%& )(#*&%) (#%&*) #*(&%) (#&*%)

Kuroda turned his eyes up, just as a figure suddenly appeared out in the shop's front yard. It was an Arrancar, with slicked back blue hair, a thin mustache, somewhat sunken eyes, and a mask that covered the upper right half of his face. He seemed to carry a sense of pride with him and looked like the type to flaunt his power over weaker opponents.

The Arrancar casually walked toward the shop and Kuroda casually watched him.

A few meters away, the Arrancar came to a stop and looked upon Kuroda. He seemed to gather that Kuroda was a shinigami but other than that showed nothing else.

"I heard that someone here knows how to use the Hougyoku," said the Arrancar, "I would like to meet him."

"And just who are you?" asked Kuroda,

"Patros," replied the Arrancar "and you?"

"Kuroda Ryou, the man you are looking for is not here, he is out running errands,"

"Then I suppose I have no choice but to wait for his return," decided Patros, "but simply waiting would be boring, you are a shinigami are you not? Perhaps you are willing to provide me with some entertainment,"

"Oh please," muttered Kuroda with a roll of his eyes, without lifting a finger he let loose a small ounce of his reiatsu. Patros was immediately effected, his knees buckled ever so slightly as he felt the full weight and density of Kuroda's power.

"Hmm," smiled Patros, "you have some power, I suppose I can take you seriously then,"

The blue haired Arrancar placed his hand on his katana, "how about a test?"

With incredible speed he sliced out his sword then resheathed it, sending a blast of energy rocketing at Kuroda.

Kuroda however made no move to avoid the attack, instead he simply sat down and waited for the attack. The blast hit him head on and covered him in a cloud of smoke.

At first Patros believed that he had killed the shinigami, but as the smoke faded, it revealed Kuroda to still be alive and completely unharmed.

"That was pathetic," Kuroda mocked,

"That's fine," Patros replied, "that was only level one, lets see how you handle level 5!"

Holding his katana's handle again, he the repeated the same motion as last time and sent a much large blast of energy at Kuroda. The Commander however, simply struck out with the back of his hand and sent the attack rolling into the sky.

By now Patros was growing frustrated, "level 10 then!"

Kuroda just sighed, he awaited the next attack, already knowing what to expect. He could just sit here and take it, but the idiot's attacks were strong enough to level the shop, so he was forced to actually move a muscle.

Patros unleashed another, much stronger blast that would have decimated a weaker opponent. But for Kuroda, it was like watching a pebble come at him. He once again lashed out with the back of his hand and sent the attack into the air.

Patros, was now stunned. His attacks had been defeated effortlessly by a shinigami, would he have to resort to releasing his true form? Such shame!

Kuroda sighed, then stretched out his hand. Patros tensed, expecting some sort of retaliatory attack, but instead Kuroda opened his hand and held it palm up as if waiting for something to be dropped into it.

"Keiji, hand it over,"

Out of nowhere, the 6th seat of the Black Ops division, Keiji Yuta, appeared next to the Commander's outstretched hand. In his own hands, he held the small vibrant orb bluish orb that held something of an ethereal property.

Patros, already shocked by Kuroda's monstrous strength, was doubly surprised to see the hogyoku now in the hands of the enemy.

"W-what?! Impossible!" he cried out, searching his pockets but finding that his prize was indeed missing, "when did you steal it?"

Keiji dropped the glowing blue orb into the Commander's hands. The turned to face the Arrancar, "when you ask? While you were on your way here as a matter of fact, you were just so busy with walking, so I decided to relieve you of some luggage."

Kuroda held the small orb to his eyes, after a few moments of observation, he scowled. His hand tightened around the orb until it suddenly broke into a dozen shards.

Patros's eyes widened,

"Not even the real thing," sighed Kuroda, "Keiji, what is this Arrancar doing here?"

"Didn't get much from what I heard, but I'm guessing these guys are a splinter group who decided they don't like following a shinigami," answered Keiji, "still, they might be able to provide us with some useful information."

"Agreed," said Kuroda, "seeing as you've decided to arrive early, why don't you take care of this."

"It'll be my pleasure," said Keiji.

Patros gripped his zanpaktou's handle again as Keiji began to approach him. The Arrancar expected the shinigami to draw his own zanpaktou, but Keiji never did. Instead he kept coming forward, armed with only his bare hands. Patros was puzzled, this shinigami didn't seem as powerful as Kuroda, why hadn't he drawn his blade.

"You're probably thinking why I haven't drawn my blade yet," said Keiji, causing Patros to be taken aback, "well it's true that I'm not as good as the Commander with smacking away energy blasts, but I am pretty good with hakuda. Never really relied on my zanpaktou."

Patros's scowl deepened, "you damn lowly shinigami, how dare you mock me!"

The Arrancar prepared to unleash another powerful blast of energy, but before he could, Keiji was already in front of him. The 6th seat lashed out with an open palm that struck the Arrancar on the neck and caused him to come crashing down onto the ground.

Patros gagged, the blow had temporarily cut off his lungs, without missing a beat, Keiji grabbed the Arrancar by the front of his coat and jumped up into the air. The two shot into the sky where Keiji reached into his sash and drew out a small knife. He brought it down and impaled it into the flesh of Patros's shoulder.

The Arrancar's skin protected him from most of the damage but the knife drew blood nonetheless. Keiji then jumped away, allowing the Arrancar to levitate himself.

"Pfft, what was that?" asked Patros, regaining some of his composure,

"Wait for it," was Keiji's only reply,

Patros furrowed his eyebrows, confused as to what Keiji was waiting for. Then, the answer struck him like a ton of bricks. His vision was suddenly beginning to blur, Keiji in the far distance looked like nothing more than a great big black splotch of color.

"Scum! You…you poisoned me!"

"Not poison, poison is meant to kill, this will simply cause your vision to fail. That technique your so fond of needs to be aimed, otherwise it's absolutely useless."

"Cheating shinigami! You fight dirty because you know you cannot win in a fair fight!" spat Patros

"Fair? This is not about being fair," replied Keiji, "this is about winning."

Patros growled and clenched his teeth, "to think I am forced to reveal my true form, over such a pitiful reason."

"**Defile: Geriflate!"**

With a powerful blast of power and a cloud of smoke, Patros released his true form. His entire upper body was no covered in a think blocky sort of white body armor and his mask now covered his entire face and head save for the upper right side of his head, which allowed for his hair to still be seen. His right arm now turned into a hinge-like copy of his zanpaktou as did his left arm.

"Now you will feel my full power shinigami!" Patros's right arm shot out from its sheath, sending out a much more powerful blast of energy, straight at Keiji.

The 6th seat smirked and promptly jumped out of the way of the attack, letting it pass harmlessly. Patros fired another attack, which Keiji dodged yet again. Each time Patros fired his attack, Keiji effortlessly avoided it.

"The Commander was right, this is pathetic," taunted Keiji,

"Don't mock me shinigami!" roared Patros, he once again charged up his attack and let it loose upon Keiji. The 6th seat simply stepped a bit to the side, letting the attack miss by a few centimeters.

Patros let out a low growl as he began to resheath his arm. However, just as it was about to be fit back into the sheath, Keiji shunpo'd in between the blade and sheath and stopped the blade from entering.

"What the-"

"You can't use that technique if you don't resheath your sword, am I right?" asked Keiji, "every time you attack, you repeat the same process, someone was bound to see through the attack eventually. And since I'm the Black Ops division's intelligence expert, it was far too easy for me to figure it out."

"But why-"

"Did I wait till now? I figured it out the first 2 times you used it, but I wanted to see if you had anything else," explained Keiji, "I'm pretty disappointed, you weren't even worth releasing my zanpaktou."

Without warning, Keiji's zanpaktou flashed out of its scabbard, an explosion of blood followed as Patros's sword arm fell free of his shoulder. With a scream, Patros mourned the loss of his limb.

"You scum!" he yelled, "I'll turn you to dust!"

Patros's left arm split open at the middle, in the opening yellow energy began to build up as the Arrancar prepared to fire. Another flash and that arm came off as well.

Patros screamed again, Keiji simply ignored the sound and slid his zanpaktou back into its sheath. He then disappeared in a burst of Shunpo and reappeared on Patros's bony back.

He grabbed the Arrancar's head by the sides and with a single motion he twisted until there was a sickening snap and Patros's screams came to an end.

The body fell to the ground, landing back in the shop's front yard. In death, Patros returned to his more humanoid form, blood flowed out of the two stumps where his arms had once been.

"Are they all this weak?" asked Keiji as he walked back toward his commander,

"Unfortunately, no," replied Kuroda,

Before the conversation could continue, the door behind them was thrown open, revealing Jinta, Ururu, and Renji prepared for battle.

"We're here to…huh?" Jinta looked around, surprised to see no enemies, "did we…miss it?"

"Uh..." started Ururu, "is that the-"

"Don't look" said Kuroda, slapping a hand over the young girl's eyes.

"Holy shit!" cried Renji, "you totally destroyed that guy!"

"He's not the only one," said a new voice, a moment later both Kaito and Rajin appeared in the yard, both dragging bodies behind them.

"Are they dead?" asked Kuroda,

"Pft, what? You think we can't handle a capture mission?" asked Kaito, "of course they're not dead, look at mine, he'd practically brimming with life! Aren't you?"

Kaito gave his prisoner a small kick, only for there to be no response.

"Uh…I think he's unconscious," said Kaito, he gave the body another kick, "I swear to god, he was kicking around like crazy a couple minutes ago!"

"That's because you tore out both of his arms," Rajin pointed out," he's probably dead from blood loss."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," decided Kaito, who then dropped the body.

"Luckily, mine is still alive," said Rajin, dragging forward a badly beaten Arrancar.

"My, my! Seems like there was quite a bit of excitement while we were gone!"

All eyes turned to the side, there they saw Kisuke Urahara, standing with Tessai and Chad. Kuroda immediately stood up, his eyes narrowing and his scowl deepening.

"Take the live one into the back," he ordered, all three black operatives nodded and moved to do as they had been commanded.

Kuroda for his part walked up to Kisuke, his gaze burning into the man. The shop owner said nothing as Kuroda approached, but he did noticeably tense as though expecting Kuroda to become violent at any moment.

Kuroda came to a stop in front of Kisuke, his glare still burning.

"We need to talk,"

**End**

**A/N**

**So yes, this was a bit of a short chapter. I am sorry that I haven't updated in over a month and I'm sorry for the rather low quality of this chapter, but I seriously don't have a lot of time for writing and you guys really deserve another chapter to read.**

**I decided to have these anime only Arrancar in here just to show off my other OC's for a bit. Not too much, but you get the idea.**

**Keiji Yuta, the 6****th**** seat, is actually the creation of Frenzi99, who entered Keiji in as an OC submission, for those of you who don't know.**

**Anyway, Kuroda and Yoruichi probably won't solve their problems for another couple of chapters, sorry.**

**I'd appreciate it if you went on to my account and participated in a poll.**

**Please review and subscribe!**

**Bye Bye!**


	38. Chapter 38

Disclaimer: I don't own bleach, if I did, a couple things might have been changed.

**Chapter 38**

Time seemed to stand still as the two men stood before one another.

The tension was thick and palpable, everyone could feel it. Kuroda's rage was clear and visible, his hand tightly gripping his zanpaktou.

Kisuke was the calmer of the two, but even he was tense. His hand subtly moved towards the hook of his cane, prepared to unsheathe his own zanpaktou in a moment's notice. He cautiously turned to his side and said in a well practiced cheerful voice, "Tessai, Chad, why don't you two run into the shop and set things down."

"But Boss-"

"Don't worry Tessai, me and Kuroda will just be talking out here,"

"Uh…alright," decided Tessai, together he and Chad, reluctantly, entered the shop. That left Kuroda and Kisuke outside, all alone.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" asked Kisuke with feigned casualness, "about the weather? Perhaps the-"

"Did you tell?" interrupted Kuroda, his voice dangerous and low.

"Tell…what?"

"Did you tell, Yoruichi, about them?" repeated Kuroda, his hand slowly slipping to AnShen's handle,

"Them who?"

"You know damn well who!" he growled, his reiatsu suddenly fluctuating, "those…things, in my head!"

Kisuke sighed, paused, weighing and carefully choosing what to say next,

"Yes"

In a blink of an eye and a flash of light, Kuroda drew AnShen and swung it down at Kisuke. The resulting attack sent a geyser of earth into the air and shook the very ground beneath them.

But the only thing destroyed was Kisuke's hat, which floated slowly to the ground, now in two halves.

Kuroda knew that his strike had not killed the shop owner, he knew that Kisuke now stood behind him only a few meters away, blade now drawn if only for show.

"My, if I hadn't moved when I did, I would be the one in two"

"I wasn't trying to cut you in half," said Kuroda, turning around, "if I was, I would have swung faster."

Kisuke's face was sad, his heart undoubtedly heavy with guilt. Kuroda's face was set in iron and his heart full of hate he reserved only for those closest to him.

"How could you?" he demanded, more than asked, "it was my secret, mine to share and keep, not yours! I came to you, allowed you to help because I believed that you were one of the few in this world that would never betray me! Was I wrong?"

"You were not wrong Kuroda, I have not betrayed you," replied Kisuke, "what I shared with Yoruichi, was not a betrayal."

"Oh wasn't it? I made it clear from the day this happened, that Yoruichi was not to know! Did you think that I did so on a whim? That I had no reason?"

"Well, why did you keep it from her?", in truth, Kuroda had never disclosed his reason to anyone.

"I…I…" Kuroda stuttered, hesitating, "you know how dangerous it is, anyone who knows is on their list and marked for death. What would happen, if I suddenly lost control? If one of them took over and I could not stop them? You would allow her to be in such danger?"

"She is not defenseless, she is strong and can take care of herself,"

"It is not a matter of whether or not she can take care of herself, it is a matter of whether she should be put into that position in the first place! Against that monster, chained and imprisoned up here," he motioned to his head, "everyone is defenseless! You know what he's done! What he's capable of!"

Kisuke lowered his gaze, "she would have found out eventually, please Kuroda, you have to learn to trust those closest to you."

Kuroda grimaced, he seemed to falter, but his answer was harsh all the same, "I wouldn't ask you to trust me. I see now my weakness, as good of friends as we are, I should have held some distrust for even you."

Kisuke's eyes marginally widened, shocked by Kuroda's words. The man's grip on AnShen tightened till his knuckles became white. His eyes lowered till he stared directly at the ground.

Above in the sky, dark clouds began to gather as though responding to the grief Kuroda felt.

Without warning he swung AnShen again, a massive gust of wind whipped through Kisuke as the force of the attack tore through the air.

The strike had been done with held back force, if it hadn't Kisuke might have lost an arm. But he felt wounded all the same. That Kuroda would even think of purposefully attacking him, was truly disheartening.

The shop owner heard a metallic hiss as Kuroda slid AnShen back into its sheath.

"You should never have told her," Kuroda said in an almost hushed voice, "but what is done is done. When this is all over, when Aizen is defeated, and if we are both still alive, we will talk again. But not until then, if we must speak, it will only concern the war or something related. Until then, not a word."

With that decision, Kuroda turned towards the shop and entered. Kisuke continued standing outside, silently staring out into nothingness.

The clouds eventually began to let loose rain, but Kisuke could not bring himself to be bothered by that. He could only think on what had happened.

How had things come to be this way? What had he done wrong that had warranted such a reaction from his friend? Were they still friends?

"We're losing him Yoruichi," he whispered quietly to the air, "every day that passes he slowly slips further away. Every pull we try to get him to come back only pushes him further away from us. Soon he will be gone completely, then there will be nothing we can do."

( #*%&() #*&%)( *&%()#&*%() #*%& ()#%&) #%& )#%&()

Kuroda followed his men down into the underground training area where they tied up the barely conscious Arrancar and set him against a rock. Kuroda examined their prisoner for a moment, making sure that his injuries wouldn't kill him any time soon and that he was still capable of logical thought.

When he finished he turned to his men.

"Kaito, Rajin, you should start heading back now,"

"I suppose we should," said Rajin, "good bye Commander"

"You go on ahead Rajin, I'll catch up in an hour,"

"What, why?"

"I want to go see Rangiku first, you know, rescue sex,"

Rajin sighed, "fine, just…make it quick"

"You got it!" with that, the 3rd seat vanished,

Rajin unsheathed his zanpaktou and opened a senkaimon, he gave one last wave, then stepped through the portal.

When he was gone, Kuroda turned to Keiji, "bring me a bucket of water, cold water"

"Yes sir," said Keiji,

"And don't steal anything from the shop," warned Kuroda,

"I'll try!" Keiji called back,

Kuroda sighed, hopefully this interrogation would help keep his mind off of recent events. He just essentially cut off all communication from his best friend and he'd already pissed off his other best friend. But, as with all things, he pushed it aside and accepted it.

Things wouldn't get better if he just sat around and thought about it and he had better things to do.

Before long, Keiji returned with a bucket of ice cold water.

"Wake him up," ordered Kuroda,

Keiji obliged by dumping the contents of his bucket upon the Arrancar, the hollow sputtered and shook as the icy cold liquid woke him from unconsciousness.

"W-what happened?" he asked, "Patros? Menis?"

"They're dead Arrancar," said Kuroda, catching his attention, "and you will soon follow, but first, we need information."

"information? I…I don't have any,"

Kuroda gave a nod towards Keiji and the 6th seat pulled out a small knife. He then grabbed one of the Arrancar's hands and held the knife to his pinky finger.

"That is a lie and you know it, I'm not asking for Aizen's grand plan, I already know it. What I ask is much smaller. You will die, but how you die and how long it takes, depends on you."

The Arrancar swallowed hard,

"Now, when I fought an Arrancar earlier, he referred to himself as the, Cero Espada, Tyran."

"I-I know of him," said the Arrancar,

"Good, now, I assume that Espada is a ranking system, correct?"

"Yes, before, there were original ten Espada, the ten strongest Arrancar. But ever since Aizen came, there was one more, the Cero."

"I see, so Tyran is the strongest Arrancar there is then. Very interesting," he said to himself, "and how do the Espada feel about Aizen's rule? Surely they can't all agree with it."

"There are some complaints, but those that are against it are too weak to oppose Aizen and those that are strong are indebted to him for their power," explained the Arrancar, "none oppose him anymore."

"Does he have a base of operation?"

"In Hueco Mundo, yes, all the Espada and him are together in a large palace known as Los Nochas," answered the Arrancar, "it a massive citadel, a place where all Arrancar live."

"and the Hogyouku? Where does Aizen keep it?"

"W-we stole the Hogyouku, Patros has it he can-"

"That Hogyouku was a fake, I suppose I should have expected as much, I doubt Aizen would trust anyone with its location," said Kuroda, "what about his plan of attack? Do you know of that?"

"N-no, he never shared anything with us lower Arrancar, only the Espada would know something like that,"

"I see, you were of less use than I hoped for. But what could I expect from a grunt," said Kuroda, he gestured to Keiji.

The Arrancar's eyes widened as he realized that the interrogation was over, which could only mean, they had no more use for him.

But, unexpectedly, Keiji sheathed the knife that delivered a sharp strike to the back of the Arrancar's head. The blow sent the Arrancar into darkness but left him breathing.

"When you can, get Kaito to come over here and pick this up," ordered Kuroda, "tell him to bring the Arrancar to the 12th division, maybe they can make some use of a live specimen."

"Yes sir, I'll get on it right away,"

Kuroda didn't even bother to respond or see Keiji off. He just climbed back up to the shop where he found his gigai waiting for him. No doubt Kaito and Rajin had gotten it for him while he'd been down in the training area interrogating the Arrancar.

He put it back on, adjusting the collar of his white dress shirt and dusting off his black coat. Kuroda then walked outside to see the skies still producing rain, he didn't care.

He walked out into the streets and began to slowly make his way back home.

His visit hadn't been as fulfilling as he'd hoped and the interrogation hadn't been the distraction he'd wanted. Now he was going to have to go home and confront Yoruichi.

Kuroda bit his lip, that was the very last thing he wanted to do.

((#* &%)(*%& ()#*&%(()#%&) #%&)%& #)*&%) #*&%()*%& )

Soul Society same time

Rajin walked through the heavily forested area towards the 2nd division's hidden jail, better known as the Maggot's Nest. A jail made for all those that could be potentially harmful to Soul Society and all those that most definitely were dangerous to Soul Society.

At the front was a large iron door guarded by two of the 2nd division members. The two nodded to him before opening the door for him to enter.

The inside was dark and cave like, as Rajin walked he wondered if perhaps the Commander had a lapse of judgment. He could understand the need for bodies to throw at the enemy but resorting to this just seemed a bit…extreme.

Still, the Commander was still sound of mind in strategy if nothing else.

It wasn't long before Rajin found himself moving through the central chamber where most of the jail's members were housed. They all looked at him with anger in their eyes, most likely hoping that they would find a chance to smack the back of his head with a rock.

One even tried, Rajin however was not in a mood to play and so he sent the man flying across the room and no one else bothered him.

He soon made his way to another door and began a descent down a very dark hallway.

Most of the residents of the Maggot's Nest were not confined to cells, there were however, exceptions. One such exception was Mayuri Kurotsuchi, the Captain of the 12th division, only he and a select few other prisoners were considered dangerous enough to keep in cells.

Rajin was off to meet one such prisoner, worse, this prisoner had once been a part of the black ops division. Technically he was labeled unstable and psychopathic, but everyone at the division knew that wasn't the case.

No, the reason he was condemned to this prison was far worse.

Eventually, he came to the desired cell, which itself was covered by a large iron door and guarded by two more 2nd division members.

"Rajin Takeda, Lieutenant of the Black Ops division," he identified himself,

The two nodded and allowed him passage.

He stepped through the entrance and the guards shut the door behind him.

Rajin was now in total darkness, but he could just make out the cell bars in front of him as well as the form of the prisoner behind them.

"I caught your scent the moment you entered the main chamber," said a low grizzled voice that held an animalistic quality to it, "have you finally decided to execute me?"

"That is not my decision, it is the Commander's" Rajin replied coolly,

"Oh? Who is the Commander now a days?"

"Kuroda is"

"Kuroda? Last I heard, he was in exile, how is he by the way?"

"He came back, he is fine, he is our Commander now," said Rajin, the continued "and he has a different fate decided for you."

The prisoner snorted with disgust, "I see, and what might that fate be?"

"One that I'm sure you will enjoy," said Rajin, daring to come closer to the bars, "three Captains of the Gotei 13 have turned traitor and are currently gathering an army of powerful Arrancar."

"Really? Shinigami and Arrancar working together, the world certainly has become more interesting since I left," chuckled the prisoner, "and where do I fit into this?"

"That is simple, we simply need you to do what you do best. We simply need you to be the Butcher again,"

Rajin saw the prisoner flinch, then steadily, he rose from the floor and stood to his full height, towering over the shinigami. The prisoner then walked to the bars and gave Rajin a good look at his dark golden eyes.

"Be the Butcher again?" the prisoner let out a low blood thirsty purr, "I'd be delighted"

( #*(&%(*%& ()%&) #&)#& %()& )#(%&) &%)

As Kuroda continued walking, he began to think, specifically on the cause of all his problems.

What was the source? What singular piece of his life had caused him so much pain as well as the pain of many others. There had to be something, nothing happened without a cause.

Perhaps some of his pain was due to simple bad luck, but certainly not all of it could be a result of a dice roll.

What had sent his life down such a terrible spin? For a small instance, he was tempted to believe that perhaps AnShen had been telling him something from before. That it was responsible for his misfortune, for everything that had befallen him the moment he arrived in Soul Society.

However, Kuroda immediately dismissed that possibility. Misery was not AnShen's objective, death was. AnShen did not exist to make other people suffer, it existed to reap lives and suck the power from its victims into its own.

What else then? Maybe the old Commander of his division? The one for whom he had unlocked the 2nd stage of his bankai and slaughtered his own men? No, Commander Hoshigaki had indeed sent him to kill his own father and had indeed tried to kill even him.

But he could not be the one to blame for everything that happened afterwards. Kuroda had control of himself for most of the time. After he had gone to Kisuke for help, the madness that plagued him had not driven him to do the deeds he had done.

So what else?

Though he tried not to, he ventured to guess that maybe his friends had done this to him? It was, unfortunately, a viable possibility. What if his friends were not truly his friends and they were in fact attempting to manipulate him? That had ample chance to do so, Kuroda let his guard down around them more than he did around anyone else.

Friendship could be a powerful tool when utilized by a malicious force. If you had the patience and the right personality, you could slip an unsuspecting victim into a false sense of security around you. Then that victim could be used for all sorts of deeds.

Kuroda himself had done so once, he had been investigating the activities of a lesser noble house. As a result he created a false cover for himself, posing as a regular shinigami. He had patrolled around a bit, observed the families activities.

He knew there was something going on, but he could not get close enough to find out what.

_Flash Back_

"_Kuroda! Hey! Kuroda! Kid! Kuroda!"_

_Words finally registering, Kuroda shook himself and responded, "what?"_

"_You understand what you have to do right Kuroda?" asked Taiju Ryou, his father, "I want to be absolutely sure."_

"_Of course I know what I'm supposed to do," scoffed the young3rd seat, "its not like this is my first undercover mission."_

"_I realize that kid, but that was just some sleazy gang in the 80__th__ district and that was only for a couple of weeks, this is something else entirely. These nobles, if you so much as walk wrong, they'll have you out of their house before you can blink."_

"_Don't worry old man, why don't you huff some weed, calm yourself down," suggested Kuroda as he sheathed AnShen._

"_Ha! Kids these days, you can't tell me when to 'huff' my weed! I tell myself when I huff my weed and I don't huff I smoke!" Taiju shot back, he then proceeded to take out his pipe and begin smoking._

_Kuroda rolled his eyes, "you know that will kill you eventually right?"_

"_Ha! Says you! I've been doing this for nearly a century and look at me!"_

"_I try not to,"_

"_Eh! How dare you speak to your father that way, I ought to give you a beating!" growled Taiju,_

"_You're too lazy to give me a beating,"_

_Taiju took in a deep breath then said, "yeah, you're right. Bad Kuroda, bad, alright I forgive you."_

_Kuroda just lightly chuckled and smiled as he finished donning his standard Shinigami shihakusho. He never cared for these robes, they always felt weird, like they hampered his ability to fight._

"_Do I have to wear this?" he asked,_

"_Yes," replied Taiju, "you're no longer Kuroda, youngest shinigami to ever enter the Black Ops division. You are now Kuroda, a seated officer of the 1__st__ division, a regular shinigami with some nice skills."_

"_Couldn't I have been part of the 2__nd__ division?" he groaned, "at least they have suitable clothing."_

"_Nope, 2__nd__ division doesn't guard nobles out in the open. They do it in trees and there are only a few of them. You need to be just another face in the crow for this to work," explained Taiju, letting out a small puff of smoke, "besides, you have to admit, it's nice to feel a breeze."_

"_It most certainly is not!"_

_Taiju laughed mockingly and went back to smoking._

_Kuroda sighed, why had he volunteered for this?_

"_Why did you volunteer for this again?" asked Taiju, who saw his son's clear anguish._

"_I…really don't remember," admitted Kuroda, scratching his head,_

"_Pfft, you are never going to be cool," laughed Taiju, "oh man, you're a total emo with others and a total dunce around me. What am I going to do with you?"_

"_I am not emo!" roared Kuroda,_

"_Whatever…emo!"_

"_Just tell me the details of the mission already!"_

"_Okay, okay," said Taiju, wiping away the last of the tears in his eyes, "this is how it is, I'm only going to say this once, so you better listen."_

_Kuroda nodded._

"_There is a lesser noble family, the Ichiou Clan, that we believe to be in some shady stuff. We're not quite sure what it is, but that's what we're using you for. Central 46 has ordered that no division member may go snooping around but, if you go as a regular shinigami, you're technically not part of the division."_

"_Right, so I go in, find out what they're doing and report back" surmised Kuroda,_

"_Whoa, not so fast boy, there's more. Under no circumstances can you be caught, more importantly, we're not even sure if they actually are doing something. You'll have to mingle with the house folk, get them to talk, but peacefully."_

"_Why can't I just do some sneaking at night? I doubt any of their guards could catch me,"_

"_Don't you remember? All noble houses have their best kept secrets behind powerful kido. You might be able to break it, if you had a month, but only family members can get through it without a problem. Them, and a select few others. That's why you need to mingle, become trusted, think of it as a vacation."_

"_Pfft, vacation, some vacation,"_

"_Aw, stop complaining, you volunteered. Now, remember, you are Kuroda Ryou, 19__th__ seat of the 1__st__ division. Remember that guy we killed a couple of nights ago?"_

"_Yeah,"_

"_That was one of their previous family body guards. We're sending you as a replacement, you're highly recommended and so they picked you. Try to act a little greedy, maybe even a bit corruptible. Also, be on the lookout for any of their daughters, you're mother wants to know if you can marry any of them."_

"_What?!"_

"_I'm kidding, I'm kidding, me and her both know you've got eyes only for Yoruichi,"_

"_Wha…I…you…are you insane!"_

"_Maybe,"_

_Kuroda sighed in defeat, "alright, so I stay there, stomach some mingling with rich folk, find out what they're up to and report back."_

"_Good, but, be warned, this could take some time. Weeks, Months, Years even!"_

"_Yeah, sure, let's just get started,"_

The first few weeks were bearable. Kuroda didn't do much or learn anything, he mostly spent time integrating himself into the family's lives. He did his daily duties, pretended to care, and made sure to familiarize himself with the manor layout.

The head of the house hold seemed kind as did his wife. If only Kuroda had seen through that before.

_Flash Back_

_It had been three weeks since Kuroda had started his mission and never, in his entire life, had he ever, been so absolutely, positively, bored._

_He was bored. This was undoubtedly the absolute worst mission he'd been sent on thus far. Not only was it bad that he had to walk around in these damn flowing robes, he had to do nothing every single day! He literally did nothing, except follow members of the noble family around every single day._

_And since they were nobles, they didn't exactly go many places. Hell, sometimes he just stayed in one spot for the entire day, pretending to be vigilant in his work. It was horrible!_

_Currently he was busy "guarding" the head of the house hold, Kamen Ichio. The head of the house was a man coming into his middle ages. He had short slicked back hair with small patches of white on his sideburns which was complimented by a relatively well trimmed beard that covered a good deal of his face._

_The man was also tall and well-muscled, like a man who knew how to fight and had seen his fair share of bloodshed, in truth he looked more like a body guard than some of the other body guards. This was further reinforced by the fact that Lord Ichio kept a katana at his side constantly. Not a zanpaktou like a shinigami would use, but just a regular steel katana._

_Kuroda wondered if it had been imbued with special properties or if perhaps it held powers yet unknown to the shinigami. He would not hold the family above being able to do it._

_Currently, the man was out on the veranda of his own personal building, kneeling down on a futon in front of a small desk, writing a few letters while enjoying the sunshine._

_Kuroda kept a respectful distance away, standing with his back straight and eyes forward._

_Lord Ichio sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Kuroda saw a chance and said, "a rough day my lord?"_

"_Indeed," replied the noble, "though I suppose I can't complain, seeing as many others have it far worse than I."_

_The noble set down his brush and turned to look at Kuroda, "you are one of the new guards correct? What was your name again?"_

"_Kuroda, Lord Ichio"_

"_Kuroda, a good name. Tell me Kuroda, what is life like as a shinigami?"_

"_Sir?"_

"_Are you ever, dissatisfied with your lot in life?"_

"_I…suppose so sir, but, everyone feels some dissatisfaction at some point in their lives" reasoned Kuroda,_

"_And what do you think would relieve you of your dissatisfaction?"_

"_Well…" Kuroda pretended to think hard, "money, I guess"_

"_Hahaha, a good answer! It is as they say, money makes the world go around," chuckled the noble,_

_Before the conversation could continue any further, steps were heard from inside the building. The door slid open and revealed the noble's wife: Lady Tanima Ichio._

_She was an elegant looking woman in every sense of the word. Her face was perfectly shaped and despite age starting to creep up on her, her body remained something to be desired by all men. Kuroda could see it even through the heavy kimono that she wore._

_Her dark brown hair was tied up into a neat bun and adorned with a quite a few small pieces of jewelry. Though it would have been missed by a lesser eye, Kuroda also spotted a small knife concealed in her sleeve as well as a slight bulge on her thigh, indicating another hidden weapon._

_What kind of noble women, armed herself in such a way? One that had something to fear most likely._

_Lord Ichio smiled and stood up to greet his wife, they met together half way and embraced each other warmly._

"_Good Morning my love," whispered Lord Ichio, "did you sleep well?"_

"_I would have slept better if my husband had been there a little longer,"_

_Lord Ichio chuckled, "sorry, I had business to take care of."_

_Kuroda watched from the corner of his eye with a bit of recognition and a twinge of jealousy. The recognition came from seeing that same kind of love, real love, that he always saw between his own mother and father. These two, despite most likely corrupt, held true love for each other if nothing else. The jealousy came when Kuroda looked to his own life and wondered if he'd ever find someone like that._

"_How was your meeting with that young lady from the Gondo family? What was her name again?"_

"_Yukiko," whispered Lord Ichio motioning towards Kuroda, indicating for her to be quiet, "it went fine, girl is completely infatuated with me. I've got her wrapped around my fingers like a silk ribbon."_

"_I bet that's not the only thing you'd like her wrapped around," the noble Lady teased quietly._

_Kuroda had to force himself not to cry out in surprise, first evidence of shady activity, check. He wasn't quite sure what bothered him more, the fact that the wife knew or the fact that she seemed to approve! What kind of messed up people were they?!_

"_She was alright," admitted Ichio, in a voice low enough that they could trust Kuroda couldn't hear, "but I prefer you any day."_

_Lady Ichio smiled and kissed him affectionately on the lips, "well, maybe later…"_

_Kuroda used every ounce of will power to pretend like he had not heard what he'd just heard. This, was some seriously weird stuff. Still, nobles committing adultery was not worth calling in the division for a massacre._

"_Later then, right now I have a meeting I have to attend," said Lord Ichio,_

_The two gave themselves one last kiss, then reluctantly broke off their embrace. As Lord Ichio began to walk away, Kuroda followed._

"_Kuroda?"_

"_Yes my lord?"_

"_How would you like to make a little extra money?"_

"_Uh…well, I never turn down money my lord,"_

"_Good, you don't have to do much, just escort me to my destination. When we reach it, look menacing and tough. Should fighting break out, deal with it. Afterwards, you are to mention nothing of what happened."_

"_I can do that,"_

_Lord Ichio smiled, "as I thought you could, come, I want to get there as soon as possible."_

_Much to Kuroda's surprise, they did not take a carriage when leaving the family grounds. Even more surprising, before they left, Lord Ichio swapped his royal garments for something a little more plain and common. The noble even went as far as to slather a bit of dust on his clean skin._

_When they walked out onto the streets of Rukongai, with two other guards, no one looked twice. They eventually bought horses and began to ride hard into the lower districts of Rukongai._

_They continued on for about an hour until they hit the 65__th__ district, there houses were shoddily built and people wore clothes that were torn and dirty. But it was better than the 80__th__ district where houses were more like boxes and people killed one another for warmer clothes._

_Eventually, they found themselves near the forested area of the district. They stopped and began to wait. Lord Ichio did not see fit to inform Kuroda of why they were stopping but Kuroda knew better than to ask._

_Thankfully, it was long before the people Lord Ichio wanted to meet, showed up. Six men came, along with one horse drawn cart with a massive box on it._

_What was inside? Kuroda could only imagine._

_Ichio dismounted and so did Kuroda and the other guards, the leader of the men walked up to meet them._

"_My cargo is intact?" asked the noble,_

"_We got it," said the man,_

_The noble motioned to one of his other guards to go check the package. The man did so, opening the large box from behind, obscuring the contents from Kuroda's vision._

_The guard came back and nodded, Ichio then reached into his robe and pulled out a large sack of coin. The leader of the men greedily took it and opened it up._

"_This stuff isn't hard to get you know," said the man, "next time, we want double."_

_Ichio smiled and even lightly chuckled, "you seem to forget, that you work for me. We have no contract, no agreement, you work for me because you know that I could easily find someone else."_

"_People are getting suspicious," said the man, "we need more money for our efforts, the boys are starting to get cold feet!"_

"_Is that so," said the noble, his voice full of hidden malice, he looked out to the other men, "which one?"_

"_Pardon?"_

"_I would hear their complaint, pick one and bring him to me,"_

_The man hesitated, but eventually complied, bringing back with him a young man. He was younger than even Kuroda, not even old enough to grow a beard._

"_I hear that you want more money for your work," said Lord Ichio,_

"_W-well, yeah," the boy said nervously, "I mean, we could use it too. I need more money to take care of my sister and mom and-"_

"_Kuroda, chop off his head,"_

_Kuroda did not hesitate, his zanpaktou was out in a flash and came back just as quickly. The boy's head hit the ground just a moment later._

_The leader gasped and stumbled away, behind him his men gasped as well. All paled at how brutal and how quick the boy's death had been._

"_Anyone else have a complaint?"_

_When no one answered, the noble smiled._

_In the next month, Kuroda and Lord Ichio performed another five of these transactions. A few times, the noble had Kuroda make an example of one of the men who complained, sometimes more than one._

_Eventually, Lord Ichio began to feel comfortable with Kuroda._

"_Kuroda, may I speak with you for a moment?" asked the noble as they once again found themselves out on the veranda._

"_Of course my lord,"_

"_No need for titles between us Kuroda, at least not in private, just call me Ichio,"_

"_Uh…sure, what is it that you would ask of me?"_

"_In a few days, we'll be having a party at the manor. It will be nice, quite a few of the lesser noble families are coming. There will be food, drink, revelry."_

"_You need my protection during this party?"_

"_Me? No, I'll be protected by four guards during the event as well my wife. I need you for another matter," explained Ichio, "I need you, to protect my daughter."_

"_Your daughter?"_

"_Yes, you see she is desired by many others and with the amount of alcohol that will be flowing…" the noble trailed off, "I'm sure you understand, being a young man and all."_

"_Oh…Oh! Of course Ichio, I'll make sure to protect her from any…stray hands,"_

"_Good, oh and especially look out for the Miwa family, they don't like us and are likely to try to stab my daughter,"_

"_Um…alright,"_

The family daughter, a young and pretty little thing, just about Kuroda's age. She was slightly less corrupted, but only slightly. He had forced himself not to be disgusted with her and pretended to like her.

_Day of the Party_

_The party was in full swing, long tables of food were laid out and plenty of sake was poured out by servants._

_The nobles conversed, laughed, and there was no doubt in Kuroda's mind that quite a few of them were committing adultery, most likely more than once in a single hour._

_It made him want to vomit._

_But he stomached it all and followed his charge, the daughter of the head of the Ichio family: Yuki Ichio._

_She was quite a sight, dark raven hair, shapely body, an attractive face, and dark green eyes. Definitely one of those woman that boys dreamed about and had many perverse fantasies._

_When they had been introduced, Kuroda had smiled pleasantly and said it was an honor. She had responded politely in kind and given him a strange look. Not a bad look, but still, a strange one._

_He noticed that she often looked over her shoulder to peek at him when she believed he wasn't paying attention. This never worked of course and he simply smiled whenever he caught her._

_Two young nobles came up to her, obviously rivals in vying for her affection. Yuki batted her lashes and acted coy, but Kuroda could sense her amusement._

"_Could one of you perhaps fetch me a drink?" he asked,_

_Both men volunteered and before long, they were in a physical struggle. Yuki giggled behind her sleeve as she watched the two duke it out._

_Kuroda however, would not have any of it. He quickly stepped in and swiftly knocked both of them out._

"_Aw, you ruined the fun," she pouted,_

"_Or maybe I was also in the contest," suggested Kuroda, he then produced for her a glass of sake._

"_Oh my, are you also trying for my affection Kuroda?" she asked teasingly,_

_Kuroda shrugged his shoulders. With a smile, Yuki went off to her next act of mischief and Kuroda followed._

_In the time of the party, she seduced 6 men, started 3 other fights, humiliated 2 women, and giggled through the whole time. She was easily, one of the most manipulative women, Kuroda had ever seen._

"_Aw, that was fun wasn't it?" she asked,_

"_Yes my lady," said Kuroda, "though to be quite honest, my attention was not on your actions, but on you."_

"_Hm, you are quite good at flattery," she said_

"_It's easy when the subject is you," he continued,_

"_Heh, well, I think I'll retire for tonight, all this fun has me tuckered out," she said,_

"_I will escort you my lady,"_

She returned his false affection and eventually after a course of 4 months, grew to trust Kuroda.

It was not his finest hour, he had been forced to stoop to all sorts of disgusting acts and had to give the image that he did not mind doing such things. Thankfully, things between him and the woman had not progressed very far.

She gave him a small peck on the cheek every now and then. But, thankfully, that was it. It made his skin crawl every time her lips came into contact with him.

Ugh, just thinking about it.

Eventually, another party came around.

_During this party, Yuki was unusually tame. She seemed content to just stand around with a cup of sake with Kuroda nearby. Every now and then, when she was sure no one was looking, she would touch his foot with her own._

_It bothered Kuroda greatly, but he showed her that he enjoyed it and responded by occasionally responding._

"_Could you get me another cup?" asked Yuki,_

_Kuroda nodded and took her cup to go refill it. He went to the table and grabbed a pitcher, as he did he saw that Yuki was now in conversation with one of her girlfriends. _

_Kuroda began to pour into the cup when he heard someone familiar call his name,_

"_Kuroda?"_

_He turned around and saw a very familiar face, "Yoruichi? What are you doing here?"_

"_Well, I'm a noble and this is a party…for nobles,"_

"_Oh, yeah, that makes sense I guess."_

"_What are you doing here is what I should be asking,"_

"_I…am…doing…stuff," he tried, Yoruichi looked very unconvinced, "uh, I have to go right now, I'm doing something important."_

_Yoruichi then turned her gaze to the sake cup in his hand._

_Before things could turn any worse, he bolted away and returned to Yuki, who had by now finished her conversation._

"_Here you go," he said,_

_She gratefully took the drink from him, "hm, usually I have more fun at these parties but I suppose everyone is weary of me now. Even the boys, only twelve of them have attempted to woo me so far."_

"_That is strange, but, that does mean I get you all to myself," he joked,_

_Yuki smiled then pulled him in for a light kiss on the cheek. Out of the corner of his eye, Kuroda, much to his horror, saw that Yoruichi had seen the small display of affection._

"_What do you say we go somewhere else?"_

"_Like where?"_

"_Well there's this place that Father always tells me not to go, but I figure I can just go anyway,"_

"_As you wish my lady,"_

_As they walked towards one of the doors, Kuroda spared a peek to the side and caught a glimpse of a very bewildered looking Yoruichi._

_Yuki led them through a door Kuroda had not been through before and down a series of dark hallways. Eventually they came to another door, again one he had not seen before, and guarded by two men._

_They both bowed before Yuki before opening the door for her. Kuroda went to follow but one of the men stopped._

"_It's alright," assured Yuki, "he's with me."_

_The guard looked hesitant but eventually allowed Kuroda to pass. Kuroda then entered the room and found about two dozen people gathered around what looked like a stage._

_Was this some sort of private entertainment? There were people up there and there was also some sort of podium._

"_Next, a young woman from District 60, in relatively good condition, good for being a maid, servant, or if you wish, a satisfier for carnal desire, beginning cost is 500 kan."_

_A small chill ran down Kuroda's spine, this was an auction, a slave auction! He scanned the room and managed to spot the same crates he'd seen during the exchange. The family was kidnapping people from the lower districts and selling them as slaves._

"_800 kan!"_

"_900 kan!"_

"_1000 kan! 1000 kan going once, going twice, sold!"_

_The young woman was led away to be given to her new master. Next a man was brought up, middle aged and relatively healthy looking._

_The bidding process began again._

"_Forgive me my lady," he whispered to his charge, "but, I need to go take care of some necessities. I will return soon."_

"_Of course"_

_Kuroda nearly ran out of the room, he hurried back down the hallways and arrived out in the main room where the party was still in full swing._

_Finally he let out a heavy breath and wiped the sweat up on his forehead._

"_Hey,"_

_Kuroda nearly jumped, he turned to see Yoruichi, her eyes a bit stern._

"_Hey," he replied breathlessly,_

"_So," she began, "who was that girl I saw you with before?"_

"_Um…Yuki Ichio, the daughter of the head of the family," he explained,_

"_She kissed you,"_

"_Yeah," he said, half paying attention,_

"_Are you two, like, an item?"_

"_What?"_

"_Well, you two seemed rather cozy with each other and it didn't look like you minded her lips on your cheek,"_

"_Uh…look, can we talk about this later, I need to…" without finishing his sentence, Kuroda dashed out and ran for Seireitei as fast as he could._

After the discovery, Kuroda contacted the Black Ops division. What followed afterwards was a massacre, the members of the family were simply eliminated and their manor burned to the ground. Kuroda himself had killed Yuki. When she first saw him, she had at first been relieved and joyful, then he shoved AnShen through her chest.

So were his friends manipulating him? The possibility frightened him and so he looked for other possibilities.

As he thought, the most immediate of his problems suddenly reared its ugly head.

"**It won't be long now, soon, we will be together!"**

Kuroda gripped his head and shook it,

"**You have no one to blame for this but yourself,"**

Kuroda gritted his teeth and attempted to lock out the voice of the Other, but even when he stopped talking he could feel the Other's presence, like some stick slime that refused to wash away.

He quietly growled, if only this thing did not exist, then he would not have as many damn problems. If only both of them did not exist, then his life would have been infinitely smoother. If they would both just…wait a moment.

They were him and he was them. If they were the source of a good deal of his problems, then, he was the source of his problems?

He thought on the possibility and did not enjoy the results. Everything that had happened so far had been a direct or indirect result of what he had done or had not done.

No one to blame but himself, perhaps he could blame Aizen a bit, but even he did not have a very large hand in making Kuroda what he was. If anyone could have a larger hand it would have been Commander Hoshigaki, but it had been Kuroda who had chosen to kill Taiju.

He had willingly killed his father.

Kuroda let out a small sigh and looked up, he arrived home without noticing and it was only afternoon. Strangely enough, the journey up to his actual room felt much longer.

As he rode the elevator up, Kuroda began to formulate his plan. What he would do with Yoruichi, how he would approach the situation, what to say, what to do.

By the time the elevator stopped, he had a full picture of what had to be done.

He found his room and entered, immediately he was attacked by his daughter.

"Dad!" she cried, tackling him in a tight hug, "where were you this morning?! I had to make my own breakfast! Do you know how hard that is? Do you!?"

Kuroda chuckled quietly, "I'm sorry Mei, I had a rough night and I had to talk to Kisuke about some things."

"He's not dead is he?"

"Uh…no," said Kuroda, wondering why Mei would ask such a thing,

"Yoruichi was acting real sad today, is something wrong?"

"No Mei, nothing is wrong," he lied, "listen, I need you to go up to your room and pack up your things okay?"

"Huh, but, why?"

"Just do it okay, I'll explain when you're done,"

"Alright," she said, then went off up the stairs. When he heard her door close, Kuroda walked in to see Yoruichi sitting on the couch her eyes turned down to the carpet.

"Hey," he tried,

She gave him a glance, then turned back to the floor. He could tell that she was expecting something, something that would no doubt hurt her.

The next words out of his mouth would indeed hurt her, but it would hurt him more.

"I want you to leave,"

Silence, neither of them moved, neither of them made any show of emotion.

"As soon as possible," he continued, still Yoruichi did not respond. But the next words broke that streak, "and I need you to take Mei with you."

Yoruichi's eyes widened as surprise made itself evident on her face, before she could ask why, Kuroda continued.

"I have…come to a realization that those around me tend to suffer and in turn I tend to suffer," he explained, "for that reason, I can't in good conscious have you or Mei near me."

"If you're trying to just get me to leave, you don't have to come up with a story," said Yoruichi,

"I am not just trying to get you to leave, I am telling the truth. Both of you are in danger as long as you live here," said Kuroda, "take Mei with you, I will arrange a room for the two of you. But I don't want you or her coming back."

"Kuroda I'm sorry that-"

"This isn't about that," he interrupted, "all the same, I think we could both benefit from some time away from each other."

Yoruichi noticeably flinched but said nothing.

"I'm done!" called Mei from her room,

"I'll go tell her," said Kuroda as he walked past her and towards the stairs, "please do this and I will be grateful."

Mei agreed to go without any trouble, much to Yoruichi's despair. She had hoped that if the girl struggled, Kuroda would rethink sending her away.

But Mei trusted her foster father far too much to question why he asked her to be away. She simply accepted Kuroda's explanation that he, "needed some time alone."

He then called a taxi for the two of them and sent them off to another one of his hotels where they were given a room of the same luxury as the last one.

Mei quickly adjusted, setting up her room. Yoruichi however, could not bring herself to do so.

She had tried so hard, to reach Kuroda. Tried so hard to break through that damn armor he wore around his heart.

But instead of opening up, he had withdrawn further. Now finally, he had sent hear away. It wasn't long before she was contacted by Kisuke and he told her that he had similarly been shunned by Kuroda.

They really were losing him and not to an enemy but to himself.

That night, Yoruichi lay in her bed and cried herself to sleep.

**End**

**A/N**

**Depressing ending is very depressing. Yes, I know, it's sad. You think I like doing this? Because I really don't, but at the same time you have to realize, a story where everything goes right is not a very good one. I mean that would just be down right boring!**

**So, yeah, I apologize that the story is a bit slow right now and that I haven't been updating. But with school things just don't work out for me.**

**As for the story, don't worry, in the next chapter, things will pick up a bit. There will be some battles and some progression in the story.**

**To satisfy those of you who like the whole relationship aspect of the story, things will get better after the Battle of Karakura Town.**

**Also, Spoilers that aren't really spoilers!**

**This story will not end with the battle of Karakura town! No sir! I intend to make it be much more epic than that!**

**So yeah, that's what I plan.**

**Also, I've been looking at my polls and have come to a decision. The next story to come out will be the Mass Effect/Aliens Crossover story.**

**A lot of you might be asking? Why?! Well, because that story is more like a mini project where as another Bleach story would be a big project. If there is one thing I have learned, its that taking on two large projects at a time is not good. Doing a big project and a mini project however, is possible.**

**So those of you that enjoyed my last Mass Effect/Predator crossover, be on the lookout. I already completed 3 chapters, I just need to edit and all that.**

**Oh, OC submissions are still open to anyone that has an idea for an Arrancar.**

**Bye Bye,**


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Skirmish

It was exactly 10:00 AM in Karakura Town, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and a nice cool breeze was passing through. Kuroda found himself inside his apartment, sitting on the couch, with the lights all turned off, the curtains closed, with absolutely nothing to do.

He had initially planned to dedicate this day to finally trying to think of a way to deal with his problem but nothing really seemed to come to mind. Either that or maybe he wasn't trying hard enough.

Every time he attempted to something would distract him, usually something very trivial. First it was that maybe he would think better with a bit of music, so he turned on a radio. Then it was that he didn't like the songs being played so he turned the radio off and put on his own music. After that he was bothered that he couldn't find the songs he wanted fast enough, so he decided to alphabetize them.

It didn't take Kuroda long to figure out that he was actually stalling. But it was something he found himself powerless against.

His apartment was very quiet, he missed Mei. Around now she would've probably been in class, apparently she was doing very well. Only math seemed to ever elude her, Kuroda was personally fine with that. Perfection wasn't something that he expected from his foster daughter.

Kuroda's eyes, which had been turned to the floor, suddenly flickered upwards.

"I know you're there Keiji,"

A bulge began to form in the floor under Kuroda's shadow. Eventually it grew bigger and bigger and began to reveal itself to have hands, feet, a head, until finally it was clear that it was the 6th seat of the Black Ops division.

"How'd you know? I was using my zanpaktou's ability to move through shadows."

"You might be able to hide body, and you're reiatsu, but sound is exempt. As good as you are at hiding that as well, there is always a squeak somewhere."

"Hm, I have a status update,"

Kuroda nodded, "proceed,"

"The team that Soul Society sent, under the management of Hitsugaya Toshiro, is currently attempting to train with their zanpaktou, I guess their recent battles showed them how strong our enemy is."

"A good decision, continue,"

"Sado Yasutora is training with Abarai Renji, under the watch of Urahara Kisuke," Keiji paused to see if there would be any reaction from Kuroda. But the Commander was ever calm and motioned for Keiji to continue.

"Ichigo Kurosaki is making good progress with the Vizards, I'm not sure what it means but they tell me he's already up to five minutes. Apparently that's a good thing," Kuroda nodded his head,

"It is, continue"

"Rukia Kuchiki and the human Orihime Inoue have gone to Soul Society, Orihime was apparently feeling useless and wanted some training."

"I see, unexpected but not unpleasant," said Kuroda, "and our own affairs?"

"The 12th division Captain, Captain Kurotsuchi, is very grateful for providing a live specimen of an Arrancar. He wishes to express his thanks and says that if we ever need modifying, to feel free to ask."

"Hm, that's…kind of him,"

"It has been decided that 4th seat Teruno Nozawa will be coming to the World of the Living,"

"And, what about **him**?"

"The Butcher? He's been released from the Maggot's Next and is currently being brought up to date on the situation."

"How's he taking it?"

"He seems fine, just wants to get out and kill something,"

Kuroda nodded, "I suspect there will be some confrontation between myself and him before this is all over. What of our enemies?"

"Nothing to report just yet, but I noticed that there is some activity in the realm between Hueco Mundo, they may be gearing for another attack,"

"Understood, keep me posted,"

"Yes sir," and with that, Keiji disappeared, leaving Kuroda with only himself again.

Kuroda was about to begin thinking of a solution again, when he felt the presence of 4 individuals suddenly appear above Karakura town. Kuroda immediately identified them as Arrancar.

However, at the same time, 2 other individuals appeared right above him.

"Right on schedule,"

#

Kuroda traveled to the roof of his apartment complex and was greeted by the sight of his 4th seat Teruno Nozawa. The dark skinned man, unlike most of Kuroda's own division, wore the standard Shinigami shihakusho. In addition he wore a Chinese style rice hot onto of his bald head. The cloak that signified him as a member of the Black Ops division was larger than most and wrapped around the man's considerably broad shoulders.

In his right hand, Teruno carried a shakujo, a monk's staff. The majority of the staff was made out of a treated wood. At the top end of the shakujo, there was a large golden ring, about the size of a dinner plate. Upon the golden ring, were six more golden rings that the larger was looped through. Wrapped around his left hand was a rosary of beads made of polished wood, 112 of them to be exact.

Teruno caught sight of Kuroda and gave a bow, "Commander,"

"Good to see you again Teruno,"

"As it is with you, though something seems to weigh heavily on your mind. Your flesh is pale, your eyes are low, is all fine with you?"

"Yeah, everything is fine, nothing I can't handle," assured the Commander, "who did you bring?"

Teruno turned back to the Senkaimon he had entered through and spoke in his deep voice, "you may come out now."

A animalistic growl emanated from the portal and Kuroda began to hear thuds. At first he thought they sounded like someone dropping heavy luggage, then he realized that they were in fact footsteps. Only something very large could have made such a loud sound by simply walking.

Eventually, a figure began to form from out of the portal. It took one step forward, placing one foot out into the world of the living. No, not a foot, a paw.

A massive paw

Kuroda instantly knew who it was: The Butcher.

A criminal, a murderer; one who had come from none other than the Black Ops Division. A shinigami deemed psychotic and a danger to all those around him. Kuroda had known the beast for a long time, they had never been on very good terms for a variety of reasons. But now Kuroda knew that they would need someone like the Butcher. Against Aizen, a man capable of the most elaborate plans and tactics one could ever hope for, sometimes all you needed was primal savagery.

The Butcher brought that to the table in more ways than one.

Another paw stepped out of the Senkaimon, gradually the Butcher's entire form came out.

Captain Sajin Komamura was one of the few anthropomorphic shinigami in the Gotei 13. His kind, were either very few or just very good at hiding themselves. But he was definitely not the only one.

Entei Ashita: The Butcher.

Entei was an anthropomorphic Lion.

He was covered in head to toe with glistening, rich golden fur. His mane was of a much darker shade, untrimmed but well kept. His eyes were feline, yellow with a thin black pupil, and full of blood lust.

Inside of his massive maw were incredibly sharp teeth, made for sinking into the flesh of prey and rival. On each of his fingers was a single black claw, each able to rival any man made blade in cutting down enemies.

He was 9 feet tall and 650 pounds of pure killing power.

Entei certainly brought the idea of being a lion among men to a whole new level.

"Kuroda," the beast said in a voice that was somewhere between actual speaking and a growl.

"Entei, it has been too long,"

"Indeed, too long since your Father shut me in the Maggot's next," growled Entei,

Kuroda didn't wince, instead he responded, "I see that you have been outfitted appropriately."

Entei had been given a black ops form fitting uniform, out of personal preference he had torn off the entire top half, leaving him bare chested. Kuroda suspected that had something to do with his male pride.

On his waist was his zanpaktou which took on the shape of a wakazashi, which was surprising considering its wielder's massive frame.

The Beat ignored Kuroda for a brief moment and turned his large nose to the air. He took in several deep sniffs before letting out a low growl.

"I smell prey," purred the Butcher,

"Normally I would have you to Kisuke Urahara's to be given seals, but since the enemy has decided to make a move. I suppose this is a good time for you to stretch your legs," decided Kuroda,

"A welcoming gift? You shouldn't have," Entei licked his lips in anticipation.

"Calm yourself Entei, do not be so eager to engage in battle," warned Teruno,

"Keep your words to yourself monk," Entei shot back, then without warning the beast leapt off the roof and rushed through the air towards the battle.

"Go after him, if only to make sure he doesn't kill the advanced to team as well,"

Teruno nodded and leapt off the building as well.

Kuroda sighed and wondered if he hadn't made a mistake releasing Entei. Kaito could be considered crazy at times but that was just the man's personality. Entei on the other hand was certifiably psychopathic, Kuroda had never seen anyone else so very in touch with their primal side.

"Keiji,"

"Yes sir," said the 6th seat, suddenly appearing out of thin air.

"I know Ichigo well, he'll want to come out and fight too. Go keep an eye on him, intervene if necessary."

"Yes sir, I'm on it,"

With his orders doled out, Keiji disappeared again.

Kuroda sighed again and realized he was no closer to solving his own problem than he had when he started.

#

"I've been looking for you Shinigami,"

Ichigo stopped himself, Grimmjow. He'd been hoping that the Espada was among those that had been sent to attack the town.

"Same here," he responded, "I wanted a rematch with you after what happened last time,"

"You mean after I kicked your ass?" taunted the Arrancar,

Ichigo didn't respond, instead opting to take Zangetsu off of his back, "I've changed since last time. Trust me Grimmjow, this fight will be over in less than 5 minutes."

"Oh? That's big talk coming from a weak piece of shit like you," said Grimmjow, unsheathing his own zanpaktou,

Ichigo paused for a moment, "before we start, what happened to your arm?"

"I cut it off," Grimmjow replied instantly, "I only need one to kick your ass."

It was a lie and Ichigo knew it, but he decided not to call Grimmjow's bluff. Let him lie, it mattered little to Ichigo.

"Better take me seriously Shinigami," growled Grimmjow as his reiatsu began to rise, "cause I won't hold back like last time,"

"Neither will I," Ichigo raised his hand to his face and let loose an explosion of reiatsu.

Grimmjow seemed unfazed at first, but when the reiatsu cleared he was shocked beyond belief. On the shinigami's face was what he could only describe as a hollow mask.

"W-What the hell did you do to yourself?"

"Sorry, I don't have time to explain," replied Ichigo, his voice now distorted as though he were talking through water.

The Shinigami suddenly disappeared, Grimmjow's eyes widened and he quickly threw up his sword. Zangetsu came crashing down with such force that the Arrancar was completely caught off guard.

Ichigo stared right into the Arrancar's eyes and uttered,

"**Getsuga Tensho"**

#

A stream of freezing ice slammed into the Decimo Espada, Yammy. But the giant hulk of an Arrancar stood firm against the attack, allowing it to hit him.

When the attack ended, the Espada stood frozen in a suit of ice. For a brief moment, Captain Hitsugaya of the 10th division believed that perhaps he might have defeated his opponent.

But then he heard the sound of cracking and the prison of ice shattered. Yammy came out laughing, "What the hell was that, a nice cool breeze? Are you hoping I'll catch a cold or something?"

Hitsugaya scowled, 'so even with my power at full, it looks like I'll need my Bankai to fight an Espada."

Not too far away, Yumichika was back handed brutally by the other Arrancar.

"I told you," whined the new Sexta Espada, Luppi, "you can't handle me 1 on 1."

"Shut up!" yelled Yumichika as he struggled to stand up,

Luppi sighed, then turned to the observing Ikkaku, "hey, you're his friend aren't you? Talk some sense into him"

"We don't do 2 on 1 fights," was the 3rd seat's only response.

"I see, what a bother," moaned Luppi, clearly bored out of his mind. It was then that an idea struck his mind and he smiled. "Yammy!"

"Huh?"

"Let me have that kid you're fighting too!"

"What?!"

"This is taking too long and I'm getting bored with only these two. I'd rather fight them all at once," all four shinigami were taken aback. Was the Espada so confident in his power that he believed he could take on all of them?

Luppi reached up to his zanpaktou, which he'd been keeping under his arm, and grabbed its hilt.

Hitsugaya was the first to realize what was going on. 'He's going to release his zanpaktou'

"Not a chance!" he growled, bursting off towards the Sexta,

"Bankai! Daiguren Hyouri!"

Wings of ice formed around the Captain's back as he charged forward.

"Strangle, Trepadora"

A wave of reiatsu and smoke exploded out from the Sexta Espada, completely obscuring him from view. Captain Hitsugaya halted his charge, unwilling to go in blindly.

Out from the smoke an appendage burst through, Hitsugaya immediately wrapped himself in his frozen wings. The shield of ice blocked the tentacle like appendage though it pushed Hitsugaya back quite a bit.

"Is that all?" he asked, unimpressed by Luppi's attack.

"Wow, you blocked it! A Captain is stronger than I thought!" said Luppi from behind the smoke, "but I wonder, how would you hold out if I multiplied that attack, by eight!"

The smoke cleared, revealing that Luppi had seven more tentacle like limbs protruding out of his back. All eight of the tentacles reared back and struck the Captain of the 10th from all angles.

The shinigami didn't even have time to respond, caught off guard, he was struck down.

His wings were shattered and he fell down to earth.

"Captain!" yelled out his Lieutenant,

Together the three remaining shinigami charged at the Espada. With a laugh, Luppi sent his tentacles at them, easily bashing them aside each time they attempted to get close.

Rangiku blocked one strike but was hit in the back by another.

Ikkasku slashed at his attackers with his spear, but was also caught off guard by the sheer number of them.

Yumichika fared no better, taking two strikes, one in the front the other in the back.

Soon each of them had sustained injuries, mostly bruises and small cuts, but that was just because Luppi was toying with them.

"This is such fun," he chimed, "I guess I should correct myself, I'd rather fight, 4 on 8"

#

Grimmjow breathed heavily as he desperately tried to jump away from Ichigo's attacks. Whatever the shinigami had done to himself, it had made him stronger, faster, overall more powerful.

The Arrancar was having trouble just keeping alive, this would have been hard with both arms, now that he had only one it looked as though he was truly doomed.

That first Getsuga had already wounded him, and it just kept getting worse.

Ichigo came at him with an overhead strike, Grimmjow blocked but found that it was only a feint. Ichigo shifted his blade down and sliced the Arrancar across the chest.

Grimmjow stumbled back, but Ichigo didn't let up. He stabbed his oversized zanpaktou forward, Grimmjow deflected the attack but Ichigo quickly recovered and slammed his weapon down on Grimmjow's shoulder.

"Fuck!" he cursed as the blade dug into his flesh.

Ichigo jumped back as Grimmjow retaliated. The shinigami then did something very unexpected, he opened his mouth, his mask also opening its mouth.

A ball of red reiatsu began to form just beyond the mask's teeth.

"No way!" said Grimmjow, his eyes widening,

The ball of red became larger and larger until it was the size of a soccer ball.

"That's a cero!"

As if to confirm his realization, Ichigo fired the attack. A red stream of reiatsu lanced towards Grimmjow who was far too surprised to counter.

The attack caught him dead on, knocking him out of the sky and sending him down towards the streets below.

Ichigo went diving after him, eager to finish the job.

Grimmjow, half dead, let go of his sword and began to form his own Cero in his hand.

"Son of a bitch, take this!" he fired the attack at the incoming Shinigami, but it was easily batted away as though it were nothing more than a firework.

The Arrancar, using what strength remained in his body, quickly realigned himself and prepared to meet his opponent. But he wasn't there.

Grimmjow felt cold steel touch his neck, he turned around and saw the yellow eyes of a hollow, "you're finished, Grimmjow"

Then, the mask shattered.

In that one instant, everything was still.

Grimmjow was the first to break it. With a savage smile he whipped around and head-butted Ichigo right in his unprotected face. He then followed up by charging a cero and blasting Ichigo with it at point blank range.

It was the Shinigami's turn to fall.

#

"Man, this is really getting boring," whined Luppi as he batted away the Shinigami's latest attempts, "are you guys really seated officers of the Gotei 13? I was expecting so much more,"

"Bastard," growled Ikkaku,

The three charged again,

"Really?" Luppi's appendages shot out, this time they grabbed each of the Shinigami, wrapping them with bone crushing power.

The officers struggled with all their strength, but in the end, they could do nothing. They were at the Espada's mercy. Luppi chuckled and used his tentacle to bring Rangiku up. His eye roamed her body and he smiled.

"Wow, you've got a great body babe," Rangiku scowled and glared daggers at him, "oh yes, you definitely have it going on,"

Another tentacle was brought up, with a simple mental command it sprouted dozens razor sharp spikes. Rangiku's eyes widened in fear.

"Wonder what you'd look like full of holes," mused the Arrancar,

Without another thought, the tentacle shot out at the Lieutenant of the 10th. But death did not come, the tentacle suddenly burst apart as it was literally smashed to pieces with a single strike.

"What the, who the hell are you!" cried Luppi,

"Surprise mother fucker!" laughed the new comer,

Rangiku immediately recognized her savior, "Kaito!"

The 3rd seat of the Black Ops division began spinning his hammer, then struck out with it, letting loose a massive ball of compressed wind.

Before Luppi could react, it struck him dead center of the chest. The Arrancar, in his pain, released his prisoners and was sent barreling away and down into the park below.

"Haha! Take that you weird girly looking man type thing!" cheered Kaito, he then turned to the other shinigami, "you alright Rangiku?"

"Yeah, I'm fine,"

Kaito came closer and took a closer look at her wounds, "ugh, no you're not. Jeez, he really gave you a beating didn't he?"

"Why you…!"

Kaito turned around to see Luppi, very angry, with his tentacles bristling and ready to strike.

"Back up you three," commanded Kaito,

"What? No way! I'm not about to run away from a fight, I-" Kaito jammed his fist into Ikkaku's gut, silencing the man and causing him to go limp.

"Ikkaku!" cried out Yumichika,

"He's fine, I just knocked him out," explained Kaito, handing over the man to his friend. "Get out of here, I'll deal with this guy,"

"Right," Rangiku nodded,

With the others out of the way, Kaito turned to his opponent.

"3rd Seat Shibata of the Black ops division," he introduced himself,

"Luppi Antenor, Sexta Espada,"

The Arrancar was the first one to strike, spiraling all of his tentacles like a deadly fan. Kaito simply smirked and held up his left arm.

The first tentacle struck his limb but amazingly the Shingami's defense did not break. A second tentacle struck, helping the first but still Kaito stood strong. A third, then a fourth, then a fifth, until all the appendages had piled onto Kaito's single arm.

Luppi pressed hard, Kaito grinned devilishly. "Is that it? Is that all the power you've got? Eight of those stupid tentacles and this is still all you've got!"

Luppi scowled, "bastard!"

Too fast for the Arrancar to act, Kaito grabbed one of the tentacles and pulled. Luppi was suddenly dragged forward, that's when Kaito began to spin himself around and around. Luppi was dragged along with the motion. Swung about like a yoyo attached to its string.

Finally Kaito let go and watched as Luppi was thrown into the ground below, his body digging a trench through the dirt that ended up being nearly half a mile long.

"What a weakling," Kaito shook his head, "the only reason you managed to take down Captain Hitsugaya is because he is young and inexperienced. Even then, you didn't manage to kill him. I'm quite sure if he came back, he'd have taken you no problem. But cocky little punks like you wouldn't know a thing about how to really fight, so I guess I shouldn't waste my breath."

"Indeed, you shouldn't," said a new voice,

Kaito whipped around, his weapon at the ready. But he quickly relaxed when he saw who it was, "Teruno man! You're here!"

"What are you still doing in the world of the living?" the man asked sternly,

"Uh…well, you see…I'm…not sure," he finally admitted,

Teruno glared at him.

"I'm sorry! I just…I don't know, spent a lot of time with my girlfriend yesterday. Time just got away from me, before I knew it, it was night! Then she said I could stay over, I slept in...I…whoa," Kaito then noticed the large Lion standing on two feet behind Teruno, he immediately recognized the beast. "Entei huh? So they let you out,"

"Kaito," the lion smiled hungrily, "there is blood in the air and I'm hungry, where is the prey?"

"Uh…well,"

"Ohhhhhh." Kaito suddenly felt a new presence, he whipped around just in time to swing out a gust of wind that blew away the new comer.

It was blonde, skinny Arrancar, with an odd look in his eye and two bucked out teeth. Kaito recognized him as the Arrancar that could have possibly been hit on the head one too many times. The thing was surprisingly fast for someone who probably couldn't add one and one.

Then Kaito felt something running for his back, Teruno was suddenly there and heat washed over the both of them.

"Haha!" laughed Yammy, his hand still glowing from the bala he'd shot, "not bad! You, with the weird hat! I'll be your opponent,"

With all the power of a charging bull, Yammy sprung forward and shot out his fist. Teruno used his shakujo to block the blow, but the force of it sent him skidding away. Yammy laughed even more and followed after.

"Teruno!" Kaito called out, but a glow in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned to see that his own opponent's hand was now glowing.

"Uh oh"

The Arrancar fired its bala and Kaito was enveloped in smoke. The Arrancar then tilted its head to the side curiously as though it wasn't quite sure what it had just done. But it smiled nonetheless and laughed childishly.

The smoke soon dissipated, revealing Kaito, surrounded in an orb of pure rushing wind.

"Hm, not bad, if I hadn't put this shield up I might have lost a limb," he mused, "now it's my turn"

Breaking out his shield, he charged the Arrancar.

From the sidelines, Entei huffed, "They have all found they're prey, but where is mind? Do I not get some prey?"

It was just then that the lion noticed another reiatsu signal, he turned his massive head and spotted an Arrancar, the one Kaito had fought, dragging himself up out of the dirt.

"That bastard," Luppi cursed, "he thinks I'm so easily taken down? Well, he's in for a real surprise when I-"

A shadow suddenly fell upon the Sexta Espada, he looked up and was confronted by a terrifying sight.

Entei stood before him, massive muscles rippling through his fur in excitement, eyes trained on the prey before him, claws itching to slice into its flesh.

"Looks like you're the only one left," said Entei, "I want to hear you squeal like pig as you die"

Luppi didn't know why, but for some reason he found the beast standing in front of him to be absolutely terrifying. His knees, though he tried to hide it, shook uncontrollably. His heart begged him to scream out loud. His lungs moaned as they desperately clawed him for the air he was currently withholding.

"What's the matter little pig? Don't feel like running?" growled Entei,

"I-I,"

"RUN!" roared the Butcher,

Luppi screamed and ran.

#

Kuroda sat at home, watching tv.

"Why am I watching TV?" he asked aloud, "I hate TV and you can watch everything on the internet nowadays anyway."

He turned his gaze to the window,

"Maybe I should go out and help them,"

He mulled the idea over in his brain for a few moments, then decided, "I'm sure they can handle it,"

#

Ichigo fell to the pavement, coughing up blood from Grimmjow's latest attack. Ever since his mask had broken, he'd felt incredibly weak. He didn't know why, maybe it was because he'd used so much power when he'd had it on.

Whatever the reason, he was now at Grimmjow's complete mercy, speaking of whom, had currently landed in front of the shinigami.

He tried to brace himself against Zangetsu and rise back to his feet. But Grimmjow would let him, the Arrancar stepped forward and kicked the teenager in the stomach.

The force of the blow sent Ichigo down a dozen blocks, bouncing off the street like a rock skipping along the water.

"Heh," Grimmjow chuckled as he landed back in front of Ichigo, "what's the matter, where'd all that power go? Guess using that mask of yours took a lot out of you."

Ichigo coughed blood onto the ground, but pushed the pain away and tried to rise.

"Still trying?"

Ichigo glared up at Grimmjow with defiant eyes as he slowly rose to his feet. The Arrancar disappeared in a buzz of sonido, reappeared in front of Ichigo and kicked the shinigami back down.

Before Ichigo could rise back up, Grimmjow pinned one hand to the pavement with his zanpaktou, effectively trapping the shinigami.

"That was a neat trick you pulled, firing your own cero. But this is how a real one is done," Grimmjow raised his hand and began charging a Cero, "Good bye, Shinigami,"

"**Tsugi no Mai"**

Grimmjow's hand suddenly froze,

"**Hakuren!"**

A massive avalanche of cold air blasted into the Arrancar, at such a close distance Ichigo could feel the attack's stinging bite as parts of his skin lost heat to the frost.

When the avalanche ended, Grimmjow stood in place, completely frozen in a huge train of ice.

"Ichigo!", Rukia called, running over to him.

"Hey," said Ichigo when she reached him, "that was pretty awesome,"

"From the feeling of things, you were doing some pretty awesome stuff yourself," commented Rukia as she attempted to dislodge Grimmjow's sword.

"Yeah, but I still got torn up," grimaced Ichigo,

"Ichigo, it's alright, you fought you're best and-"

The ice cracked, Grimmjow's hand suddenly burst out of its frozen cage and grabbed the female shinigami by the head.

"Rukia!"

"You little bitch" growled the Arrancar, "you thought if you froze the whole street, you could kill me? Get real!"

Red reiatsu began to form in the hand Grimmjow held Rukia in, fear gripped her as she realized what was to come.

"Rukia! No!" screamed Ichigo,

"**Onikisu o shushuku,"**

Shadows suddenly burst to life from all over the street. They were no longer a product of the light, they took form, and they used that form to suddenly latch on to the Arrancar and yank him from his ice prison.

In his surprise, he let go of his victim.

The shadows then slammed Grimmjow into the street, keeping him trapped there as he cursed away.

"What the hell is this stuff?" growled Grimmjow as he attempted to struggle free,

"Shadows, under my command," said a voice, "it's a special ability granted to me by my zanpaktou, Yami no Washi"

"Show yourself!" demanded Grimmjow

"The Commander told me to intervene if necessary," said a voice, "I think your actions could fit the bill,"

A bulge in the street in front of Grimmjow began to form, it kept rising till it took form, revealing the 6th seat, Keiji.

"Who the hell are you?!" roared Grimmjow,

"A shinigami,"

"So you're a friend of those two?"

"Am I? I suppose I am,"

"Then I guess I know who I'm going to kill first!" with an impressive display, Grimmjow broke free from his bonds and ripped his sword out from Ichigo's hands.

The Arrancar wasted no time lashing out with his blade, aiming to chop off Keiji's head. But the 6th seat suddenly wasn't there, he literally disappeared into the street as though he had been standing on water.

"What the?"

Keiji suddenly sprung out of nowhere and delivered a powerful kick to the back of Grimmjow's head. The Arrancar reeled from the blow but quickly recovered and turned once again to face an opponent who wasn't there.

"Bakudo No.30: Shitotsu Sansen!"

Grimmjow looked up to see Keiji onto of a roof, having form a golden triangle with three sharp cones. Upon command, each cone shot out and slammed into Grimmjow, pinning him to a building.

"What the fuck! How did you slip past my pesquisa?" demanded Grimmjow

"It's the ability of my zanpaktou," Keiji raised his right hand.

On it was golden gauntlet, with two deadly claw like blades protruding out of where Keiji's wrist was and small spikes upon his armored knuckles. The gauntlet itself was decorated with an eagle motif, emphasized by the eagle on the back of his hand.

"Yami no Washi allows me to travel through the shadows, while inside them I can hide myself from any detection," explained Keiji,

"Little coward, I'm gonna tear you to pieces!" in a display of incredible strength, Grimmjow ripped off his kido restraints and jumped towards Keiji.

Once again the shinigami disappeared into the shadows,

"Where is he? Where is he?" Grimmjow asked aloud, his eyes darting all around.

Little did the Arrancar know, Keiji had escaped into his shadow and now rose silently behind him. He raised his gauntlet in preparation.

"Bakudo No.1 Sai!"

Invisible hands suddenly gripped Grimmjow's arms and held them to his back in a lock.

His opponent momentarily immobile, Keiji uttered to his zanpaktou,

"**Hemataito no Tsume"**

Black and red streaks of reiatsu swirled around Yami no Washi, increasing the deadliness of Keiji's attack and the accuracy of his strike. With his augmented weapon, he aimed for the jugular vein of his opponent and struck.

"Oh please!" Grimmjow's tied hands formed a cero and fired directly into the street. Keiji quickly hid back into the shadows as Grimmjow's attack released him and he took to the skies.

"There aren't any shadows up here! Just try that trick again!"

Using Shunpo, Keiji appeared behind his opponent, Hemataito no Tsume still in effect he struck out. Grimmjow quickly whipped around but was too late, Keiji struck a blow. The blades sunk into a nerve bunch just under Grimmjow's right pectoral.

The Arrancar immediately felt the right side of chest go numb, in addition to seeing a good deal of blood suddenly spill out.

Keiji immediately retreated.

"Hey! Get back here!" demanded Grimmjow,

But Keiji did not stop, he kept running away. Grimmjow in his hot blooded anger charged after the Shinigami, intent on destroying his target.

"That's right, keep following," whispered Keiji,

Suddenly a ball of red hardened reiatsu shot passed him, he gave a quick glance back to see that Grimmjow was firing bala at him.

"Come back here you little shit!"

Keiji rolled his eyes, "Right, like I'd actually do what he tells me,"

#

Teruno spun his shakujo, using it to bat away Yammy's barrage of bala.

"Hahaha! Take that! And that! And that!" laughed the Decimo Espada,

When there was a lull in the volley, Teruno charged forward and swung his shakujo. Yammy, being the slow Arrancar that he was, took a blow to the head from the golden ring of Terno's weapon.

The Espada was staggered but recovered quickly. He felt a warm liquid drip down from his forehead, he touched it and found blood on his fingers.

"Hmph, only a little," mocked Yammy, "why don't you stop fooling around with that stupid twig and pull out your zanpaktou,"

"What are you talking about?" asked Teruno patiently,

"What, do you think I'm stupid? You're a shinigami aren't ya? So you must have a zanpaktou,"

Teruno raised his shakujo, "this is it"

"Huh?"

"This is my zanpaktou," explained Teruno, "you see, I'm one of those shinigami who has poor control over my own reiatsu. I've gotten better over the years, much better, but I never could get it under enough control that my zanpaktou would revert to its unreleased state. What you see here is my zanpaktou, this is **Ten no Yubi**"

"Pfft, then it's a sorry excuse for a weapon!" mocked Yammy, "couldn't even give me a good knock on the head, what use is it?"

"It is not meant for physical fighting I'm afraid," said Teruno, "it is a channel for my Kido,"

"Huh?"

"Let me demonstrate," Teruno held up his shakujo, aiming its head at Yammy. A moment later, white fire blasted out of the ring, it struck Yammy square on the chest. The Arrancar was enveloped in smoke and fire, he burst out, angry and confused.

Blood seeped from a massive burn mark on his chest where the attack had hit him.

"Bastard, what was that?"

"That was Hado No. 33: Sokatsui, but with Ten no Yubi, I need say neither the incantation nor the name, only to think it. In addition, Ten no Yubi channels my reiatsu into my kido, multiplying their power greatly. You can tell how much I've put into the attack, based on how much the smaller rings glow." Sure enough, the smaller golden rings had a faint glow to them, "do you understand Arrancar? You're out classed,"

"The hell you talking about? No! It doesn't make any sense to me, but I still know I'm going to crush your head between my fingers!"

With that, the Espada charged.

"So rash," Teruno whipped out the butt of his staff and fired a volley of Shakkaho, but these were twice the size of regular. When they struck Yammy, he was blown right off his feet and sent tumbling through the air.

"Bastard! Now I'm really pissed," opening his mouth, Yammy began to charge up a cero. He fired the attack, aiming it perfectly at Teruno.

Teruno simply tapped the solid air with the butt of his shakujo, and a Danku appeared. The Arrancar's cero broke like water against the rocks as it crashed against the translucent wall.

Teruno lowered his defense, then aimed his shakujo and fired two Byakurai from the ring, followed by a Sokatsui from the other end.

Yammy avoided the first Byakurai but was struck in the shoulder by the second and hit in the gut by the Sokatsui that followed.

Still, the Arrancar managed to stand, albeit badly wounded.

"Rargh!" he screamed, his hands began to glow. The Decimo prepared to unleash his bala again.

But Teruno would not have it, he shunpo'd in front of Yammy's fist and tapped Ten no Yubi against it. Immediatley the charging bala stopped.

"What the-"

"You've allowed me to see that attack too many times," said Teruno, "in a way, your attack isn't so unlike kido. I've seen it enough to know how it works, the movement, the mixture of reiatsu. Its absolutely useless against me now,"

Yammy ground his teeth, "Son of a-"

Teruno kicked up the butt of his staff and fired a blast of purple reiatsu, a Haien. Yammy caught it right in the face.

The resulting explosion enveloped the Arrancar's head and he fell from the air to the ground in a heap.

#

"Get away!" screamed the Sexta, striking at Entei with his tentacles.

The lion roared in response, using his claws he shredded through the tentacles as they came his way. One struck from above and he sliced through it. Another came from the left, he jumped over and cut it down. A third came right at his face, he dodged and tore it apart

The lion quickly grabbed another one of the tentacles and sank his claws into it. He then ripped off a sizeable chunk of the appendage and tossed it into his mouth. He chewed it a few seconds that spat it out in disgust.

"Hm, guess that's not for eating. No matter, I know which part of you is full of nice juicy blood and tender meat," said Entei.

Luppi swallowed hard, as if the idea of dying wasn't bad enough, now he face the possibility of being eaten too.

"Come on then, I like to work for my meal!" With a savage roar Entei charge forward, teeth bared.

With fear gripping him, Luppi sent out his tentacles to strike again. Entei met the attack head on, blocking the attack with his crossed forearms. The beast then sliced through two of the appendages with his claws and tore off another with his teeth.

"Come on! You can do better than that!" Crouching down on all fours, Entei burst forward faster than ever like real lion of the plains.

Luppi in his panic, hastily charged a cero and fired it. Entei pounced off the ground, avoiding the beam by landing on a tree.

Luppi fired another cero, Entei jumped from the tree back onto the ground, avoiding the attack.

By now the lion was half way to Luppi, who was starting to really become nervous.

"Die!" Luppi sent all of his tentacles in at the same time, hoping to overwhelm the best through sheer numbers.

Entei grinned a toothy smile, he leapt to the challenge, spinning himself like a top and stretching out his clawed hands.

The cyclone of claws ripped through the Arrancar's tentacles like a sword through tissue paper.

"Die!"

Luppi fired one last Cero, at such a close range there was no way for him not to miss.

But Entei was undaunted, he threw out his right paw and slapped the attack away, redirecting it into the tree line. Now his prey was before him, time to eat!

Down came Entei's claws, out of reflex Luppi threw up his arms in protection. The Butcher lived to his name as his claws like cleavers, sliced into Luppi's flesh.

Entei latched onto Luppi's forearm and his eyes glowed with murderous intent.

"I want to hear it pig! So, SQUEAL!"

The Arrancar screamed and fell back as his left arm was slashed loose from the rest of his body.

"My arm!" he screamed out as he pitifully tried to back away.

"Its not yours anymore," laughed Entei as he picked up the severed limb. He stared at it hungrily and before long popped the bloody end of it into his maw.

Luppi was forced to watch in horror as his arm was slowly devoured by the Butcher, flesh, blood, and bone, all slithered down Entei's throat to fill his belly.

"Now for the rest"

#

Grimmjow lashed out with his sword, Keiji dropped low, grabbed the Arrancar by the wrist and flipped him onto the ground.

When Grimmjow attempted to rise again, Keiji jumped away and yelled, "Hado No.33 Sokatsui!"

The Arrancar instantly replied with a cero, the two attacks met and canceled each other out. But now Grimmjow was hidden in smoke.

"Little bastard, where are-"

"**Hemataito no Tsume"**

His hand covered in reiatsu again and his accuracy augmented, Keiji had no problem striking another blow, this time in Grimmjow's kidney area.

As per pattern, Keiji then jumped away.

"Losing your arm really has weakened you hasn't it?"

"Shut up!" growled Grimmjow, who was now barely standing , "if you didn't keep running away all the time and fought like a man, then you'd be nothing more than a pile of guts and blood!"

"Sorry, straight up fight isn't really my style," admitted Keiji, "if only you had both your arms. I know what your power was like when you had both of them, I'd be having much more trouble if you did."

Grimmjow growled, then noticed that Ichigo and Rukia were still in the same spot as they were before. A smile spread on his face.

"Maybe I can't hit you, but what about them?!" he aimed his hand and fired off a quick cero.

Keiji's eyes widened as he quickly rushed down after the attack.

"**Tekutaito no Tsubasa"**

Reiatsu wrapped around Keiji's feet and arms, the sign of his zanpaktou augmented his speed and reflexes. He suddenly burst forward, twice as fast as he was before.

But even with his enhanced speed it was close. He reached the two shinigami just in time to jab Yami no Washi at the red cero, shattering the beam.

But that's when Grimmjow burst out, ready to cut down the busy Shinigami. However, he underestimated Keiji, who recovered immediately and kicked his foot up into Grimmjow's gut.

The Arrancar was sent away and onto his back.

However, through sheer stubbornness, he rose back up, even angry.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Grimmjow held out his zanpaktou, "Grind: Pant-"

A hand suddenly grabbed his arm. The blue haired Arrancar turned and saw the last person he wanted to see right now.

"Ulquiorra," he seethed,

"Our mission is finished," said the Cuatro Espada, "we're leaving now,"

From above, a yellow pillar of light captured the two and began lifting them back up into Hueco Mundo.

It was the same with Yammy, Luppi, and the strange Arrancar.

Yammy groaned in irritation as he was forcefully pulled away from Teruno.

"Argh, next time Shinigami, I'll crush you,"

The 4th seat remained silent.

"T-the same goes for you," said Luppi to Entei, who had just finished with the hand. " The next time we meet, I'll crush you."

Entei licked his lips,

"I look forward to it,"

#

From on top of his apartment complex, Kuroda watched the retreating Arrancar. To everyone else, this probably seemed like a victory. A small one perhaps, but a victory nonetheless.

However Kuroda knew better, the Arrancar had been pulled out when they most likely could have continued. Why stop?

There could be only one reason.

They had gotten what they wanted.

This was really, their victory.

**End**

**A/N**

**Yay! New Chapter is done!**

**I am so sorry guys, I wish I could have gotten this to you earlier but you know how it is. The next chapter will come out sooner I promise.**

**So, I hoped you liked it, a lot of action in this one.**

**I hope you liked my new OC, Entei. I don't know why, but I felt like I needed a seventh member for the Black Ops division. You get a cookie if you can guess why I need seven, hint: it has something to do with the apocalypse.**

**So, I figured, why not make a furry character. I'm not usually a fan of them, but I figured what the hey. So, Entei was born. Why did I make him a psychopathic lion? I think it had something to do with watching Lion King. Also, what he does in this chapter is not cannibalism, cause the others aren't lions.**

**Also, Teruno got some fight time. I'm actually kind of proud of the shikai I gave him, don't know why.**

**Keiji got some more time too, yay! Keiji is the OC of Frenzi99, I use him with Frenzi99's permission. Props to him for coming up with Keiji's zanpaktou.**

**So, yeah, review, favorite, share this story.**

**Bye Bye!**


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Tragedy

After being brief on what had happened by Teruno, Kuroda felt somewhat disheartened. His suspicions that Aizen had actually won this round were becoming more and more plausible. Worse, none of the Arrancar that had participated in the attack had actually been killed. At very best they'd all been badly injured, which hopefully, meant that they would be out of commission for the eventual battle.

Even so, Kuroda was getting a very bad feeling about all of this.

"And that's all?"

"That's all," replied his 4th seat,

Kuroda let out a sigh, "I see, what about Entei? What was your assessment of him?"

"He's as dangerous as ever to our enemies. He took on an Espada without too much trouble," replied Teruno, "it's no wonder he was once a candidate for Lieutenant. However, I feel much concern for our allies safety when around him. His blood lust and hunger for flesh might drive him to turn on us."

Kuroda nodded, "agreed, however we can't exactly be picky with our allies at the moment. Based on what has happened recently, it would seem that Aizen is already prepared for the coming battle."

Silence filled the room for a moment as Kuroda thought heavily on the matter. "Have Kaito escort him back to Seireitei. Give him a message to be delivered to Rajin, this matter will be handled by him."

"Of course sir, but…" Teruno hesitated, "permission to speak freely?"

"Granted,"

"Should not you be the one to handle this? You are the Commander of the division and matters of this kind of importance usually are handled by one of your rank," said Teruno, "why give it to Rajin? You and I both know that he despises having to lead. He has always been a fine assistant and that is why you made him Lieutenant. But what you give him now is nothing short of a decision that a leader must make."

Kuroda stood up from his couch and walked to his balcony window, for a few moments he simply stared out into the bright blue sky, before answering, "I know"

"Then why?"

Kuroda shrugged, "despite what he believes, Rajin would make an excellent leader. Perhaps I simply find him fit for the task."

"It's not just that Commander, there is more to your decision. My eyes can see it in yours,"

Kuroda smiled lightly, "You always were good at reading people my friend."

Kuroda then took something out of his pocket, a small paper envelope. He then walked over to Teruno and handed it to him, "Give this to Kaito to deliver as well. It is for Rajin's eyes only."

Teruno nodded, then stood up to leave. When the door closed and Kuroda was alone again, he went back to staring at the sky from his dark little room.

"I should be trying to fix my problem," he mused, yet there he was, wasting away his time.

"I think I'll go for a walk,"

#

"You are to escort Entei back to Seireitei," commanded Teruno as he ushered Kaito and Entei towards the Senkaimon.

"What?! Why me?" demanded Kaito,

"Because you did not report back to your post, instead you were lazy and stayed in the world of the living for an extra day,"

"Can you blame me? Everything over here is so much more convenient! They have microwaves! Microwaves!"

"Regardless," continued Teruno, "you will escort Entei back to Seireitei. You will then deliver this letter to him, it will explain to him what must be done."

"I hate to leave so soon," said Entei, "I had just begun to have fun"

"There will be more later," assured Teruno,

Entei just grunted and stepped through the Senkaimon.

"Hey wait!" called Kaito as he began to enter as well,

"A moment, Kaito," Teruno stopped him, "you are also to deliver this envelope to Rajin as well."

Kaito took the envelope, "what is it?"

"I don't know, the Commander didn't tell me,"

"Kuroda gave this to you? Hm, must be real important then," decided Kaito, "alright, I'll get it to him."

"Make sure you do, it seemed to mean a great deal to the Commander that it be delivered,"

"Hey, don't worry," said Kaito, "it's not like it contains secrets that could end the world."

#

As decided, Kuroda started walking around aimlessly through Karakura Town, wearing a casual suit while he did it. More than a couple people recognized his face and took pictures.

He pretended not to notice and kept on walking. Hopefully the paparazzi wouldn't show, he would hate to have to work his way around them. Thought to be quite honest, in his current mental state, he was liable to kill all of them before they could start their annoying questioning.

Still, there was a certain peaceful calm that came with wandering about.

Currently he was walking down a relatively busy street, both sides lined with various stores. It took him a moment to realize that it was the same street that he and Yoruichi had walked down when they had gone to lunch together.

A small smile spread on his lips and he recalled the comforting memory. He held onto it tightly and locked it to himself as though it was the last pleasant thought he would be allowed.

As he continued walking, a small jabbing pain suddenly sprouted in his temple. Kuroda didn't need to think very hard to know what it was. _He_ had been quite recently, but that didn't mean that _he_ wasn't there.

The pain began to fade, but Kuroda could still feel_ his_ presence. It was starting to spread, it felt like a colony of microscopic beings was slowly making their way through Kuroda's skin. It was the spread of _his_ influence.

Kuroda had felt it only once before, after he had murdered his father. It was both a horrible and pleasant sensation at the same time.

Kuroda sighed and decided to concentrate on his walk.

"Dad?"

Kuroda turned to see the owner of the voice,

"Dad!"

A small figure tackled him in the stomach, nearly knocking him to the sidewalk. It was Mei, his daughter. A soft smile touched him as the young girl hugged him tightly and dug her face into his chest.

"I missed you Dad!" she squealed,

"I missed you too Mei," he replied, "how have you been?"

"Great!" she replied, "this world is so much fun! Did you know that they have these little boxes, that you only have to put into a small glowing machine, and when you take out the box it gives you a fully cooked meal?"

"You mean tv dinners and microwaves?"

"Yeah! It's amazing, but sometimes the food is kind of icky!" Mei stuck out her tongue to emphasize.

Kuroda chuckled, "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself,"

Mei smiled toothily at him,

"Hey, have you tried ice cream yet?" asked Kuroda,

"Have I tried what?"

"Ice cream,"

"Silly dad, why would I ever want to freeze whipped cream?"

Kuroda snorted, "Not that kind of cream. Come on, I'll show you."

The father took his daughter to the nearest ice cream shop he could find and brought her inside. Mei was immediately fascinated by the sweet creamy dessert that she'd just been introduced to. She pressed her ice close to the glass, staring wide eyed at all the different flavors.

She was convinced that it must have been delicious, based on all the wonderful colors and all the children around her enjoying their frozen treats.

"Want some?" asked Kuroda,

"Mmhmm!" she nodded cutely,

Kuroda ordered for her a large ice cream sundae, with scoops of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. Mei then added on top of it, whipped cream, hot fudge sauce, sprinkles, and three candied cherries. Kuroda suspected that it was much too large for the young girl to finish, but decided to let her have her fun.

He then ordered for himself a regular bowl of chocolate mint ice cream.

They sat together at a free booth, where Mei immediately began digging in to her treat. With her first bite, Mei's eyes became incredibly wide.

"This…is…the greatest food, in the history of food," she then began shoveling the ice cream into her mouth with one spoon in each hand.

Many of the other children stared with envy as the large Sundae amazingly began to disappear.

"Huh, you eat more than I remember," Kuroda quietly commented to himself,

Before long, Mei's Sundae was completely gone and Kuroda had only finished half of his own bowl. The young teen licked her lips and asked, "are you going to finish that?"

At other times Kuroda might have chastised his daughter about eating so much unhealthy food, but today he gave her the rest of his.

"We should do this more often!" said Mei, rubbing her belly in a satisfied manner.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, eat enough of that and you'll rot your teeth," warned her father,

"Nah, I brush every day, how can my teeth rot?"

"Heh, just trust me on this," said Kuroda, "but, if you promise to not eat all of it in one night, I'll buy you a carton to take home."

Mei's eyes widened, "you can…take…ice cream…home?!"

"Uh…yeah,"

Mei let out a girlish little squeal of excitement. Kuroda smiled again, it made him happy to see his daughter happy. If there was at least one good deed he could name that he had done, it would have been saving Mei from Rukongai.

Though, thinking about it, made him wonder if perhaps she had had parents before him. He'd never asked, so she'd never told. But part of him had wondered back then, if during the massacre he and his division had carried out, had they struck down her parents, her real parents.

"Hey dad, can I ask you a question?"

Kuroda snapped out of his thoughts, "what is it?"

"Did, you and Yoruichi have a fight or something?"

The question came as a shock to Kuroda, "uh…no, why do you ask?"

"Well, I'm kind of worried about her," said Mei,

"Why, what's wrong?" asked Kuroda, now visibly concerned.

"She's a lot more quiet that she's ever been. She's always sitting on our room's couch, not really doing anything, just sitting and staring at the floor. She doesn't talk unless I talk first, she hasn't been eating all that much, and I'm not sure if she sleeps anymore."

Kuroda furrowed his eyebrows and scowled. This was unexpected to say the least, he wasn't quite sure what could have done this to her. Surely it wasn't because of him, was it?

"I'm sure she's fine Mei," he lied, "she's probably just worried, we all are."

"You mean about the attack earlier today? I wanted to join, but she wouldn't let me,"

"Good, you might have died if you did go,"

"Hey, I can fight too!" she protested,

"I know Mei, but the ones that earlier today were above your level" explained Kuroda, she crossed her arms and pouted, "come on, let's get that carton for you."

She immediately perked up, "Yay!"

#

Kuroda waved good bye to Mei and continued going on his walk. When they'd been in the ice cream shop he was pretty sure he'd seen someone outside with a camera.

He could see the headlines now, _"Kuroda Ryou! A father? Who would have guessed!"_

Or something along those lines, whatever the case, his status as a selfish rich boy probably wasn't going to hold now. He was surprisingly okay with that, given his plan, what his colleagues would think of him wouldn't matter.

Eventually he found himself at the river that ran through the town. He grabbed a few stones and attempted to skip them across the water, usually quite unsuccessfully.

After some time passed, Kuroda decided to move on. He stopped himself however, when he saw a familiar face.

Just a little ways down the river, he saw Tatsuki. She was sitting by herself on the grassy hill with her knees pulled into her chest. She looked, sad, perhaps a bit depressed.

Kuroda, with nothing else to really do, walked over and greeted her. "I think I know you,"

The high school student looked up and found herself surprised, "Kuroda?"

"In the flesh," he replied, "it's nice to see you Tatsuki, but aren't you supposed to be at your karate class right now?"

"Uh, well, my instructor is sick today, so the class has the day off," she explained.

"Hm, so how are things?"

Tatsuki gave him a strange look, as though she couldn't understand why he was talking to her. "Aren't you, the CEO of a company?"

"Yeah," he replied, "so?"

"Well, don't you have to work or something?"

"I gave myself a vacation," he explained, "is this really how you greet an old class mate?"

"Oh, uh," Tatsuki blushed, embarrassed by her own manners, "h-how are you?"

"Fine," replied Kuroda, "but, what about you? There is something clearly bothering you."

"Oh, it's nothing. You don't have to worry about it," assured Tatsuki,

"Come on, when was the last time we talked?" tried Kuroda,

"Uh, we never talked. We just sort of, knew each other," Tatsuki pointed out, "I was the loud girl, you were the depressed guy in the corner."

"True, but I can see that you are truly bothered by something. Call it paternal instinct but I don't like to see young ones like yourself with such heavy looks on their faces," said Kuroda, "so, come on, I'm not going away till you do."

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt," Tatsuki finally decided, "it's about Orihime. Lately, I've been seeing less and less of her. She's been hanging out a lot with Ichigo, Chad, and Uryu. I should be happy that she's made new friends, but I guess I'm just used to being the one she hangs around the most."

"So, you're feeling left out, is that it?"

"Maybe, but, when I asked Orihime what she did with Ichigo and the others, I think she lied to me."

This caught Kuroda's attention, not so much Orihime lying, more on Tatsuki's reaction to it "you sure she was lying?"

"I know she's my friend, but I could just tell she wasn't telling my something. She was hiding the truth, like she thought that I shouldn't know or that I couldn't handle it, that-"

"You were better off not knowing," finished Kuroda,

"Yeah, and…I don't know, I just feel like she doesn't trust me enough,"

"Maybe she's just trying to protect you from something," suggested Kuroda, "friends do that sometimes."

"Heh, that'd be weird. Usually I'm the one protecting her," chuckled Tatsuki, "but even if it were for my protection, I'd still want to know."

"You wouldn't want to be protected?"

"Keeping the truth doesn't always protect," said Tatsuki, "and in the end, I feel as though Orihime is pushing me away. I didn't see her at all today, I can barely sense her too."

"What?"

"Uh…I know this sounds weird, but me and Orihime have always been close. I don't know why, but I sometimes feel like I can…" Tatsuki searched for the right words, "sense her, I guess. Does that sound weird?"

"A little," admitted Kuroda, "but I've seen and heard weirder."

Tatsuki smiled, "no way"

"It's true," said Kuroda, he then turned to leave, "I hope you work things out between you and Orihime, see you around,"

"Oh, okay, see ya!"

Kuroda walked away, his steps a bit heavier. He felt like he'd just had a piece of his life ripped out and painted like picture in front of him.

In a way, Tatsuki represented those that had been close to Kuroda, and Orihime had represented Kuroda. Not personality wise, but in her actions. Lying to loved ones, that was the similarity.

Kuroda had done that too many times and he'd just had its results painted in front of him.

As he continued walking he let out a heavy sigh and looked at his watch. According to it, he'd spent about three hours walking. Those were hours that would have been better spent trying to think of his own predicament.

He had exactly the same idea of what he was going to do as he did when he'd begun: none.

Plan B was starting to look more and more like it was going to become Plan A, seeing as there was no original Plan A to begin with.

"Perhaps," he whispered, "I should go visit Yoruichi, see what's wrong,"

After a few minutes of standing still, he finally decided, "I have more important matters to attend to."

#

"Finally! We're back!" groaned Kaito after escorting Entei through the Dangai world, "I need a drink, something strong."

Entei did not respond, instead he turned his eyes to some of the Shinigami who had been awaiting them. He licked his lips hungrily.

A few of them saw this and immediately began to feel fear creeping up their spine.

"I smell their fear," whispered Entei, "can I eat them?"

"No, you may not," Kaito said immediately, "they are our allies and are not on the menu."

Entei let out a low growl, "but I hunger"

"Yeah and I thirst, but you don't see me whining about it," Kaito shot back, "man, I really need drink!"

Entei let out another low growl, this one out of irritation as much as hunger. Suddenly his eyes widened and he began to sniff the air, catching a scent upon the breeze.

"Huh? Hey! No eating Shinigami!" yelled Kaito, "we'll find something for you later, right now we've got to report to Rajin"

"But-"

"No buts! Trust me, you do not want to meet Rajin when he's pissed off! Let me tell you, there was this one time when I accidentally spilled his tea onto some paper work and had to-"

"Had to what?"

Kaito froze and stopped midsentence. He slowly turned around to see Rajin standing right there, waiting expectantly.

"Please tell me Kaito, what happened after you spilled my tea on some paper work? Because I don't recall that ever happening, unless perhaps you hid the event from me"

"W-what?! No" Kaito said as calmly as he could, though he was unsuccessful, "I just made that up, just trying to teach the big guy a lesson and…uh…hey, you've got mail!"

Kaito grabbed the letter and the envelope out from his pocket had handed them to the Lieutenant. Rajin took them, looking at the letter first.

It took him a few moments to read it over, however as he went on his expression became more and more concerned. When he finally did finish reading it he looked incredibly distressed, so much that he had to wipe of a bit of perspiration from his forehead.

"That bad?"

"Yeah," said Rajin, he sighed, "I hate these kinds of assignments, why can't everything be simple?"

"I don't know, but hey, at least I don't have to deal with it"

"How is that supposed to make me feel better?" asked Rajin

"You? That was to comfort me man! Who cares about you?"

Rajin rubbed the bridge of his nose, "alright, let's get the convict back to our barracks, I'd hate for him to…Kaito"

"Yeah?"

"Where is Entei?"

"What are ya talking about?" asked Kaito, "he's right over…uh oh."

Entei was no longer right behind the 3rd seat, in fact, the lion was nowhere to be found at all. It was almost embarrassing that two of the most powerful members of the Black Ops division had lost someone under their charge so easily.

"What the hell!" yelled Kaito, now panicking as he knew he would be blamed for this, "the guy is a giant! How do you lose someone like that!?"

Rajin sighed, "alright, let's go find him. He's nine feet tall, he can't be that hard to find."

Unfortunately for the two, Entei turned out to be very hard to find.

Rajin and Kaito spent the next hour searching every corner of Seireitei for a nine foot tall lion who enjoyed eating anyone who was not of the same species. Unfortunately, that meant just about everyone else in Seireitei. Which mean that not only did they have a potential criminal on the loose, they had a potential criminal who would most likely cut up other Shinigami minding their own business, then eat them raw!

"Oh this is not good!" Kaito said nervously as they searched the 11th division barracks,

"Excuse me," said Rajin to the Kenpachi, "but have you seen a nine foot tall lion that wants to eat people?"

"Lion? Is he one of those weird furry types like Komamura?"

"Yes sir,"

"Hmm, no, but he sounds strong! I want to fight him, what you say his name was?" asked Kenpachi, a devilish look on his face.

"Uh…Entei,"

"Yachiru!" called Kenpachi, the girl jumped on his shoulder,

"What is it Kenny?"

"We're going hunting! Look for a big fur ball named Entei!"

"Aye aye sir!"

With that, the Captain of the 11th went speeding through the streets yelling, "Entei! Entei! Where are you? I want to fight!"

Rajin slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead, "why me?"

"Okay, he's definitely not here," announced Kaito, "where have we not checked?"

"A lot of places! If we keep going at this rate, it'll take us all day just to cover a quarter of Seireitei. We need help! Lots of it!" Rajin yelled in exasperation

"Well where are we going to find a bunch of people that can quickly track down an escaped convict?"

A few minutes later

"Soi Fon! Little Bee?!"

"Who are you trying to call?" asked Kaito as he followed his lieutenant through the 2nd division's barracks,

"The Captain, Soi Fon, who else?" replied Rajin, "Little Bee? Where are you?"

"You call your girlfriend little bee?" asked Kaito questioningly,

"Yeah, why?"

Kaito just shrugged, unwilling to go there.

"Little-mmm!" Rajin was suddenly cut off when a hand wrapped around his mouth.

"I thought I told you not to call me that in public!" hissed a voice, the hand fell away and Rajin turned around to see the exact person he was looking for, albeit embarrassed and angry.

"Soi Fon, I finally found you I…Soi Fon?"

The Captain of the 2nd had turned away, as if refusing to look at him for some reason. Rajin looked to Kaito for support, but the 3rd seat just shrugged. "She's your girlfriend."

"Soi Fon, is something the matter?"

She still didn't say anything.

Rajin edged towards his friend, "did I do something wrong?"

"Did you say hi to her when you got back?" asked Kaito,

"Uh…no," admitted Rajin,

"Well you should probably go do that, woman can be a bit sensitive with this kind of thing. Not all woman but, some, trust me, I know," explained Kaito,

"Okay, I'll try," said Rajin, "Soi Fon, its nice to see you again. How have you been?"

"Fine," she replied dismissively,

"Uh…" Rajin turned back to Kaito,

"Tell her she looks nice!" he whispered,

"You're beautiful as ever," tried Rajin, "Soi Fon? Little Bee?"

Again the Lieutenant turned to his friend. "Try some physical contact"

"What?!"

"Go!"

Soi Fon kept her back to them, making Rajin a little hesitant. He usually didn't touch Soi Fon unless she made it clear she was alright with it and he never ever approached her from the back. 2nd division training made it instinct that anything from the back was to be treated as a threat, thus no one in the division ever touched each other from behind.

But, this was a desperate situation.

Bravely, Rajin approached the 2nd division Captain from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist. She immediately tensed up but surprisingly didn't stab him in the eye, as training dictated she do. Feeling a bit bolder, he then nuzzled his nose into the nape of her neck, she usually liked it when he did that.

Soi Fon squirmed a bit but didn't resist all that much, Rajin then gave her a small kiss on the head.

"Are you still mad?"

"A little," she muttered,

"I'll make it up to you later," promised Rajin, "but right now I need a favor"'

"What?" she asked, finally facing them.

"We're looking for someone who was under our charge but somehow slipped away, we could use the 2nd division to speed up the process of looking for him," explained Rajin,

"Well, most of us are busy with the war preparation but I suppose I can spare a few squads to hell you out," she said bashfully,

"Thank you, we're looking for a lion who stands on two legs and enjoys eating people, he's nine feet tall, golden fur, and is usually hungry," said Rajin,

Soi Fon was silent for a moment, most likely wondering now if this was some sort of joke.

"I'm serious,"

"Alright, I'll get a few squads to report t you," said Soi Fon,

"Thanks again Little Bee," Rajin said,

"I thought I told you to-" the Lieutenant of the Black Ops division suddenly push his lips against her, giving a chaste peck before dashing off to continue searching.

"Hey, wait up for me!" called Kaito as he followed.

Soi Fon's face scrunched up and her face became incredibly red, finally she screamed out ,"RAJIN!"

The Lieutenant just smiled as he ran as quickly as he possibly could.

"Didn't know you were the kind of guy to kiss and run," commented Kaito when he finally caught up,

"She likes it," assured the Lieutenant,

#

During the last 2 hours, Kuroda finally knew what he was going to do. It wasn't a well thought out plan, it wasn't even really a good plan, but it was a plan. That was better than what he had at the start of the day and quite frankly, he didn't think anyone else could have thought up of anything better.

His plan was simple, his situation was not unlike that of the Vizards when they had first gained their inner hollow. So, he would attempt to deal with it the same way that they dealt with their hollow, through brute force.

The concept behind the method that the Vizards used, was simply to beat their hollows into submission. Once shown who was in charge, the hollow would surrender itself to the Vizard.

The other wasn't a hollow, but he was still a part of who Kuroda was, therefore the same basic principal should technically apply. Technically.

In all likelihood, this plan would end up with him dead. Not bodily dead, but consciously dead as the new master of his brain would take over in his stead after absorbing the current him.

However, there was the problem that if he lost, the change would be instant. The other would then most likely go on a killing spree, starting with whoever was closest.

No matter how much he might have despised the world, unleashing the other on it was a fate he would not wish on anyone. He would need to make preparations.

That meant talking with someone he didn't really want to talk with.

What made it worse was that he was standing in that very person's front yard.

"Okay," he whispered to himself, "I can do this,"

Taking a deep breath, Kuroda walked into Kisuke Urahara' s candy shop. It was quite late by now, the sky had already grown dark, but the lights were still on inside the shop.

Kuroda carefully slid the door open and stepped in.

Tessai was busy cleaning the shelves and was the first one to notice Kuroda's entry.

"Oh, Mr. Ryou, it's good to see you again!" the large men greeted,

Kuroda nodded back politely, "it's good to see you too Tessai, where's Kisuke? I need to speak with him."

"Ah, of course, he's down below training Mr. Yasutora and Mr. Abarai," he explained.

"Thank you,"

"Can I get you anything while you're here?"

"No thank you, this will only take a moment," replied Kuroda, before stepping further inside.

After a few moments he found himself at the bottom of the ridiculously long ladder used to enter the underground training area. There he saw Kisuke standing upon a tall rock, overlooking two figures doing battle.

Kuroda saw that it was indeed the Lieutenant of the 6th division and Chad. He saw more than a few of Chad's fist propelled punches shoot up into the air against a massive serpent made entirely of bones.

Judging solely from sight, Kuroda would say that the training was paying off. The blasts looked more powerful and much faster. Chad himself gave off a more powerful reiatsu signal.

That was good, it would be useful it would mean that he would be useful in the upcoming battle.

Silently, Kuroda walked up the rocks until he stood shoulder to shoulder with the shop owner. The two did not exchange words at first, instead opting to quietly watch as the two below sparred.

Eventually however, Kuroda spoke.

"I need a favor,"

Kisuke nodded, "what is it?"

"I'm going to be trying to fix my problem soon but as a precaution, just in case I fail, I need a failsafe," he explained.

"What did you have in mind?"

"A portal, to Hueco Mundo,"

Kisuke tensed up for a moment, then smiled, "my, my, you don't want to unleash him on us. So you decide to release him on them if things go sour."

"Will you make the portal or not?"

"Of course,"

Kuroda nodded, then turned to leave.

"Kuroda," Kisuke called, the shinigami stopped. "You should talk to Yoruichi, at least once, to say good bye."

Kuroda paused, as if thinking about it, but did not reply and instead continued on his way.

#

After another hour of searching, Rajin had decided to delegate finding Entei to Kaito, since it was he who had lost the lion. Rajin himself went back to the Black ops barracks to find himself some reprieve from a surprisingly exhausting task.

He opened the door to his office and dropped into his chair. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Why me?" he asked aloud, "I thought we were supposed to be a well trained, highly specialized, elite combat unit, not bumbling fools who chase around a criminal in our own homes for the better part of a day."

Of course, no one responded to his complaints.

With another sigh, Rajin placed the two items that had been delivered to him. The parchment of paper had been straightforward, it simply said that until the Commander saw fit to do otherwise, Rajin would be in charge of what to do with Entei.

That included deciding how to deal with the lion's more rebellious behavior.

Rajin sighed, he hated making decisions, especially ones that decided the course of someone else's life. It was hard enough making decisions that impacted his own, at least then he'd be the only one to suffer the consequences should it be a bad decision. But someone else, Rajin didn't even want to think about it.

When the Commander had left and Rajin had been left in charge, he'd almost resigned. He didn't think he could take the role of leader of the division. He didn't want to have to make those decisions that he'd seen the Commander do so many times.

He'd seen the toll it had taken on Kuroda, he didn't know if he could do the same. It was only with the help of the rest of the division that he had managed to get through it.

They always helped him. Even starting a relationship with Soi Fon had been a difficult decision. Not because he hadn't wanted to, but because he couldn't decide if it was a sound idea or not. As he recalled, it had taken a full six months for him to even consider starting a relationship, then another six to decide to do it.

Rajin rubbed his eyes, taking his thoughts back to the present. He pushed the paper aside, he would deal with it later. Right now it was more a matter of finding the lion.

Though judging from this alone, it was clear that Entei was in need of some strict discipline.

The lieutenant then turned to the next item that had been delivered, the envelope. He put it out in front of him and noted that it had a wax seal bearing the Commander's signature.

That meant this letter was especially important.

Rajin broke the seal with care, then steadily pulled out the contents as though they could explode at any time. It was another sheet of paper, with quite a bit of writing.

The lieutenant began to read what the letter had to say. As he went on he began to feel a bit uncomfortable. When he continued on, it became confusion, even further and it became nervousness.

By the time he'd finished, Rajin had entered into full blown shock, maybe even panic.

The door to his office suddenly slid open, revealing Kaito and Entei, who was chewing on a pig leg.

"Hey! Found the big guy, he sniffed the 4th division's little petting zoo and killed a couple pigs. Captain Unohana found him and gave him a meal, but she'd like for us to-"

"We need to get a message to the world of the living," interrupted Rajin,

"What? Why?"

"The Commander is in serious trouble, we need to warn Yoruichi, Kisuke, maybe Teruno, anyone!" yelled Rajin as he pushed past the two.

"Whoa! Whoa! Slow down, what's going on?" asked Kaito as he followed after the lieutenant, "what do you mean the Commander is in trouble?"

"I mean his is in danger, serious danger!"

"From who? Aizen?"

"From himself!"

#

In the end, Kuroda decided not to go see Yoruichi one last time. If he did, then he might change his mind on what he was going to do.

He would try to fight it, oh yes, until his arms and legs would no longer move and his blood pooled upon the ground like a massive lake. But in the end, he knew there was no denying it.

Fate had decided that he would not see the end.

The Reaper had decreed his time.

By tomorrow morning, he would be dead.

**End**

**A/N**

**Heavy isn't it? Yeah, Kuroda isn't very optimistic about his current situation, in his mind he doesn't think that this is a fight he can win. So he's accepting what is bound to happen.**

**What was in the letter he sent to Rajin will be revealed in the next chapter, which I suspect won't take too long to come out. Maybe two weeks at best.**

**School is about to kick my butt, so no promises.**

**Also, if any of you were a fan of my other story Predators: Variety of Prey, then I suggest you check out my newest story, Aliens: Bane of the Reapers. Already five chapters up, get over there and tell me what you think.**

**Anyway, review, favorite, follow this story.**

**Trust me, it helps so very much when I see people enjoying the stuff that I write.**

**Bye Bye**


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Time Bomb

"Why the hell are we here?" asked Kensei as he lazily leaned against one of the many boulders dotting the landscape of Kisuke Urahara's underground training area.

"I already told you," replied Shinji who was sitting on the ground, hat pulled over his eyes, "we're here because Kuroda asked us to come. He said it was important so I figured it must be."

The blonde Vizard then yawned, "still, I wish he'd waited till morning to ask us. I could really use some sleep right about now."

"I sense a disturbance in the universe," said Love, "one that must come from our absent friend."

"Stop trying to sound like you're in a manga," scolded Rose,

"Hey, Kisuke," said Shinji, turning to the shop owner, "do you know why Kuroda asked us to be here?"

Kisuke had been uncharacteristically silent ever since they'd arrived and it was starting to bug Shinji. Kisuke was never silent, hell half the time the guy couldn't shut up. That could only mean that something was troubling the man's mind and if it troubled Kisuke, then it was something really bad.

"I do know," answered Kisuke, "but it's not for me to tell you."

"Ugh, great, more weirdness," muttered Shinji,

"Please, be patient," said Hachi, "I'm sure whatever Mr. Ryou needs our help with is very important"

"Yeah yeah," grumbled Shinji.

Just then, the five of them heard footsteps coming towards their position. Before long, the owner stepped into view.

"Kuroda, about damn time you showed up to whatever it is you dragged us out of bed for," growled Kensei.

The Commander of Black Ops silently continued towards them. Kensei seemed to sense something was off and turned to his companions questioningly.

They however, were equally confused.

"Why did only four of you come?" asked Kuroda, ignoring Kensei's earlier remark.

"Oh, well the girls didn't want to get out of bed," explained Shinji, "want me to go get them anyway?"

"No," replied Kuroda, "you four will hopefully be enough. I doubt the other three would make a difference."

"Huh, difference? Difference about what?" asked Shinji,

"Yes," said Rose, "why on earth did you drag all the way out here?"

"I need your help," said Kuroda, "I'm performing a rather dangerous task that could very well destroy the entire town. I needed some powerful individuals to be on station incase things go wrong. That's why I chose you."

"Appreciate the compliment," said Shinji, "but you haven't even told us what the task is so I don't know how helpful we can be."

"It'd take too long to explain to you everything," said Kuroda, "but I think it would be sufficient to say that what I'm doing is akin to taming an inner hollow."

"Inner hollow?" asked Love, "I thought you didn't have one, or that you'd already taken care of your own."

"Like I said, it'd take too long to explain," repeated Kuroda, he then turned to Kisuke, "is the portal ready?"

Kisuke nodded, "one trip to Hueco Mundo waiting on stand by"

"Good," said Kuroda, he then turned to Hachi and Tessai, "you two, I'm going to need the strongest barriers and restraints that you can possibly conjure up."

"Of course," said Hachi,

"I will do my best," said Tessai,

Kuroda let out a breath, "alright, I suppose we should get started. Everyone stand back"

The group did so, spreading out two dozen meters from him, Kuroda then unbuckled his zanpaktou from his sash. He sat down cross legged and unsheathed AnShen, placing the sheath across his lap and sticking the katana itself into the ground in front of him.

"Tessai, Hachi, start tying me down!"

"Yes sir!" said Tessai, clapping his massive hands together, "Bakudo No.99: Kin!"

Large rolls of spiritual fabric suddenly appeared and wrapped themselves around Kuroda's body, coiling tightly like massive snakes. The fabric then rolled itself out onto the ground, forming a large x, which was further pinned to the ground by large stone blocks.

"Bakudo No. 63: Sajo Sabaku!" a golden chain burst out from Tessai's fingers and wrapped itself tightly around Kuroda, further restraining hm.

Tessai then spread his arms out to his sides, "Bakudo No.62: Hyapporankan!"

Purple rods of energy formed in Tessai's palms, which he then proceeded to throw. Kuroda was showered in the large purple rods, he winced slightly as they shot into his body.

"Bakudo No. 61: Rikujokoro!"

Six thin, wide beams of light slammed into Kuroda's midsection, paralyzing him completely.

By then, Kuroda couldn't have twitched a single muscle even if he wanted to. At least, not as he was now.

Hachi then stepped forward. Holding his hands together as though praying, he created a large orange colored box of kido to imprison Kuroda. He kept his hands together, creating another box around the one he'd just made, then another, and another. Stacking the barriers on top of each other until five layers had been created.

The two nodded to Kuroda, signaling that they were done.

Kuroda let out another breath and tried to clear his mind.

His mind, ironic really, as it was the last place he wanted to go but at the same time it was where he needed to be.

Concentrating upon AnShen, he slowly closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift away.

Before long, he'd entered his own personal hell.

#

Shinji checked his timer and saw that it read five minutes.

Five minutes and still nothing had happened, he was starting to wonder if he'd been dragged out of bed for absolutely nothing. He certainly hoped not.

"Hey, Kisuke, is it supposed to be this quiet?" he asked the shop owner,

"Honestly, I'm not sure," admitted Kisuke, "I've never done this before."

"Well, I hope something exciting does happen," said Shinji, "otherwise I might just fall back asleep"

"You should be careful what you wish for," said Love, "as it may very well come true and then you will wish you hadn't"

"Stop quoting my manga!" demanded Rose,

"I'm not! I really thought of that one by myself!" protested Love,

"Oh really? Then why is that I can see it right here in this manga I'm reading?" asked Rose, holding up the book.

"Uh…well…great minds think a-"

The ground suddenly shook, the quake was so violent Shinji nearly lost balance and fell off the rock he was sitting on. Kensei, who had actually fallen back asleep, was shaken right back into consciousness.

"Holy crap! What the heck's going on?" yelled Shinji,

The answer was soon made quite apparent as everyone turned their eyes onto Kuroda. The man was literally oozing reiatsu, giant red streams of the stuff were pouring out of his body and filling up his prison.

The reiatsu came out in quick bursts, like shockwaves after the detonation of an explosion. Each time a wave came out it smashed against the barriers Hachi had set up as though it were rocks holding back the sea.

Despite the violent eruptions, Kuroda himself seemed completely peaceful.

"What the heck is going on?" asked Shinji,

"It's begun," replied Kisuke, "he is now in his inner world, battling his demons."

#

Kuroda took a good look at his inner world. The graves were still there, marked by their various tombstones. The ground was still dry, cracked, and incapable of producing life. The giant mausoleum in the middle was still there and untouched. And the massive fiery tornado in the sky was still swirling in the air above.

So why did this place feel creepier than usual?

A cold sweat was rolling down Kuroda's skin and his heart was pumping a beat faster than formal. With his hand tightly on AnShen's handle, he moved deeper into the graveyard. He usually felt strangely peaceful going through this place of death, but now he felt a certain longing to be as far away as possible.

Kuroda began to notice that the further he went into the graveyard, the stronger that longing became. This longing was no inner conflict, there was something out here affecting his thinking. The answer to what, was an obvious one.

It became even more obvious, when the dark grey of the dead ground was interrupted by large red cracks that reminded him of veins of cooling magma.

At least he now had a trail to follow.

Only a few minutes later of following the large deep red cracks in the ground and Kuroda found his target.

Himself

"**Well, well, well, the sheep comes to the lion"** purred the unholy incarnation of him. **"I thought I'd have to wait for you to sleep again, but you've made it so much easier on me. Or should I say, easier on yourself?"**

Kuroda didn't respond to his other self, instead he slowly slid AnShen out of its sheath and held it to his side. His other self grinned and stood up from his crouched position up to his full height. Kuroda scowled when he noticed that the other's straightjacket was in shreds. One of his arms was already free, the other was hanging on by a single buckle.

One buckle was still there? Good, then maybe Kuroda still had an advantage, albeit a small one. Taking a deep breath, Kuroda positioned himself into a stance.

"**So you want to fight?"** asked the Other, **"well, I should have expected as much. I know I wouldn't go down without a fight, it only makes sense that you wouldn't as well."**

In a quick flash of movement, Kuroda swung AnShen down. A massive wall of dust erupted from the ground and shot past the Other. The Other did not even flinch, he simply stood there glaring at Kuroda.

When the wall finally settled down the Other casually lifted his free left hand to his face and smiled.

"**Well what do you know? Looks like you aren't all that weak,"** said the Other, revealing a small scratch on his palm.

Kuroda scowled, the Other knew it was a lie. Kuroda had put his all into that single swing and he still had barely drawn blood.

"**Well,"** said the Other, **"I suppose we should get started."**

The Other then reached his free hand out. One of the large cracks that had originated from his feet began to ooze red mist, that mist began to take form in the Other's hand. Before long the mist had become a full fledged katana, but not just any katana. Kuroda recognized it as his own, as AnShen.

As soon as the Other had his weapon, he pounced forward like a wild predator. Kuroda, knowing he had no hope of blocking the attack, quickly leapt away. Down came the Other's sword, slamming down onto where Kuroda had just been standing.

The resulting contact caused the earth below to shatter, rocks the size of a man were flung into the air and tombs were smashed beyond recognition.

Kuroda soon landed, the moment he did he sprung forward and swung his sword. The Other calmly stood his ground and casually raised his own sword.

Their blades clashed in a brilliant burst of sparks, Kuroda pushed with all his weight but the Other easily held him back while keeping a smile on his face.

Kuroda broke the lock and brought his sword down for another blow, the Other weaved around it and retaliated with a horizontal slash. Kuroda barely managed to duck under and attempted to sweep his opponent's feet.

The Other laughed and jumped over the sweep, then shot out both his feet, connecting them with Kuroda's face and sending the man tumbling across the graveyard.

The shinigami smashed into a dozen tomb stones before finally coming to a halt. With pain coursing through his body, Kuroda shakily stood up. He shook his head, trying to recover from the blow. When he looked back up, he found the Other patiently waiting in front of him.

Without warning Kuroda lunged at his opponent, thrusting his sword. The Other easily sidestepped and hit Kuroda with his restrained arm's elbow.  
>Kuroda recoiled back and swung back with his left hand. The blow caught the Other on the neck, but had absolutely no effect. In fact, it actually hurt Kuroda more than it did his opponent.<p>

With his guard dropped, the Other kicked Kuroda right in the chest and sent him tumbling across the graveyard yet again. But this time Kuroda smashed his free hand into the ground and stopped himself from going too far.

Quickly, he charged right back at his opponent. The Other barely moved as he parried the first attack, dodged the next, and ducked under the third. Kuroda brought his katana down again, but the Other blocked it with his own and shot his knee into Kuroda's gut.

The wind was ripped out of his lungs and Kuroda fell to his knees.

"**How sad,"** whispered the Other, **"to see the great Kuroda Ryou, so helpless"**

Kuroda gritted his teeth, "I'm not dead yet!"

Swinging up, Kuroda rose from the dirt and renewed his attack. He swung his sword with a hurricane of motion, attacking from every direction he knew how. But the Other was simply too fast, he dodged or blocked all of them as though the Commander were nothing more than an academy student.

Just as Kuroda brought his sword down one more time, the Other stopped his route entirely by blocking the attack and shoving Kuroda away.

He smiled,** "my turn"**

In the blink of an eye, the Other was suddenly in front of Kuroda. The Commander didn't even have time to jump back as the monster brought down his sword. A massive mushroom cloud of smoke and dust erupted into the air.

A moment later, Kuroda's form tore out of the cloud into the air. His left arm was now bloodied and a stream of crimsons running down his face.

"Damn it," he cursed, "one strike from his weaker hand and he still did this to me"

"**This?"**

A cold hand gripped Kuroda's heart. His head turned for him to see the Other now standing behind him, sword already raised.

"**This, is nothing, compared what I'm really going to do to you!"**

#

Yoruichi lay quietly on the couch of her apartment, not sleeping, or resting, simply laying there. She couldn't rest or sleep knowing that one of her oldest and closest friends hated her.

Ever since Kuroda had asked her to leave, she had not contact with him since. Everyday she wondered if maybe he would finally knock on the door and talk to her again. She didn't really care what he would talk with her about, as long as he talked to her.

But it seemed that that day would never come.

Yoruichi's eyes drifted up to the ceiling. What had she done wrong? Perhaps she had been a little too nosy in trying to help Kuroda, but how could she not when leaving him alone left her with nothing? How could she just simply stand aside when some part of her knew that Kuroda was digging his own grave?

Some friend she was though, things had only gotten worse since she got involved.

Maybe if she simply stayed away, Kuroda would find his own cure and everything would be better. He had seemed fine when she hadn't been around before. Yes, if staying away meant Kuroda would have peace, she would do it.

But she knew that even if she said that to herself, she would never be able to go through with it. She never could leave her friends alone.

#

_Two days after the Ichiou Party_

_It had been two days since Yoruichi had seen Kuroda at the Ichiou's manor. Since then she had seen hide nor hair of her friend. In fact the times when she had believed she could sense him near he would suddenly vanish, as if he were avoiding her._

_It was starting to annoy her, she just wanted to talk to him not beat him over the head with a tea kettle. Although that idea was getting more tempting with the amount of annoyance he was causing her._

_Yoruichi's thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly felt the presence of the person she was just thinking about._

_Currently she was in the 2__nd__ division's barracks. She knew that Kuroda's division and the 2__nd__ division sometimes worked closely together on various missions of upmost importance and as such they usually came to exchange notes with one another._

_Was Kuroda here for that? If so, she could probably ambush him and they could finally talk. Muffling her steps as best as possible, she silently moved towards the source of the signal._

_Eventually she made it near the 2__nd__ division meeting room, she pressed her ear to the door and heard two familiar voices. The first was Rajin, the other was a bit grizzly. She had heard that voice before but couldn't quite put her finger on it._

_She didn't hear Kuroda's voice but that was probably him just being silent. Yoruichi opted to wait outside the room until the meeting was over, then get Kuroda. Hopefully this time she'd actually get him._

_After another ten minutes of waiting, the voices inside the room finally stopped. Yoruichi was immediately on alert, she would definitely get him this time._

_The door slid open and two figures walked out. The first was Rajin, the other was an older fellow that Yoruichi recognized to be Kuroda's father._

_But no Kuroda walked out._

_Suddenly, Kuroda's father turned his gaze upon her. At first she froze, then she leaned against the wall and pretended as though she was doing nothing remotely creepy._

"_Hey, your that Yoruichi girl!" said Kuroda's father,_

"_That I am," she replied confidently, "and you're that Kuroda's father"_

"_Yes I am," he said proudly, "I remind him every day just to annoy him. So, when are you two getting married?"_

"_Oh, not sure," she replied nonchalantly, "haven't really set a date yet and you can't get married if no one has proposed yet."_

"_He hasn't proposed? Ugh, that damn kid, I gave him the money to get a ring! What they heck did he do with it?"_

_Yoruichi burst into laughter as did Taiju, enjoying the good sense of humor they seemed to share._

"_Well, on a more serious note," said Taiju, "how is my boy? He's been a bit strange lately and I can't really seem to get a beat on him. Heck just a few minutes ago he climbed out a window when the meeting was done."_

"_There's a window in that room? Damn!" cursed Yoruichi, "to be honest, I've been trying to figure it out myself. But I think he's avoiding me."_

"_Really? Huh, I thought he got out of there in a hurry," said Taiju, "well, I can't have my son avoiding his future wife! Fear not young lady! I shall help you!"_

_A few hours later_

_Yoruichi waited patiently in her room back at her manor. Taiju had said that he'd get Kuroda for her, though she didn't exactly know how he'd do it._

_This would have been so much simpler if Kuroda had simply allowed the two of them to talk. Seriously, what was with that man? It was like talking was the last thing he ever wanted to do, probably spent more time with his zanpaktou than with his friends!_

_A knock pulled Yoruichi from her inner ramblings. She walked to her door and opened, only to find no one._

"_Huh?"_

_Another knock, wait, was it coming from her window?_

_She decided to take a chance and opened her window. Lo and behold, there was Taiju hanging from the windowsill like an overgrown hairless monkey._

"_Hey there!" he said with a great big smile, "special delivery for the young lady with purple hair!"_

"_LET ME GO YOU GEEZER!" growled Kuroda who was currently hogtied and slung on Taiju's shoulder like a bag of potatoes._

"_Hush you!" Taiju shot back as he entered through the window._

"_Is tying him up absolutely necessary?" asked Yoruichi,_

"_Absolutely," replied Taiju with complete confidence, "where do you want him?"_

"_Well, I guess on my bed is as good a place as any," she replied,_

"_Oh, going to try that approach eh?" said Taiju, waggling his eyebrows,_

"_WHAT?! WHAT'S GOING ON!" roared Kuroda, "OLD MAN! THIS BETTER NOT BE ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR SCHEMES TO-"_

"_Silence!" demanded Taiju, "this is for your own good my boy! You will thank me for this one day!"_

"_I'LL RAM MY SWORD THROUGH YOUR HEART ONE DAY!" Kuroda continued as Taiju lay him down on Yoruichi's bed._

"_That's nice, well I'm off, try not to break him Yoruichi. Oh, and I want one granddaughter and one grandson," with that strange note, he leapt out through the window. Leaving the two of them alone._

"_Please tell me, that this was not your idea," said Kuroda as he attempted to struggle with his bonds._

"_Well what did you expect me to do? You've been avoiding me for two whole days!" said Yoruichi in a scolding manner._

"_I have not!" protested Kuroda,_

"_Then why have I not seen you at all recently?"_

"_We are busy people"_

"_Yet we still somehow managed to meet every single day up until now?" asked Yoruichi,_

"_Well…I've been busier than usual," tried Kuroda,_

"_Do you really think I'll buy that?"_

_Silence._

"_Didn't think so," said Yoruichi, sitting down next to her tied up friend. "Now, we need to talk"_

"_Talk about what?" asked Kuroda, though he already knew._

_Yoruichi mulled the question over for a few minutes. "Was that lady Ichiou I saw you with two days ago?"_

_Kuroda did his own mulling for a few seconds then replied, "yes"_

"_Why?" Yoruichi asked in a forced manner,_

"_I was her body guard," replied Kuroda, equally forced._

"_Seemed like a lot more than that," Yoruichi pointed out, "getting her drinks, smooches on cheeks"_

"_I was undercover," said Kuroda, "I had to pretend to like her, I didn't have a choice"_

"_I've seen how men look at her, that's a real sacrifice you made," Yoruichi said skeptically,_

"_It wasn't like that," said Kuroda, "ugh, why do you even care? It's not your business what I do with my life."_

"_Well, I just wish that you would have told me that you were undercover," she replied._

"_That would totally defeat the purpose!"_

_Yoruichi frowned, he had a point._

"_Look, I had a mission" said Kuroda, "can't we just leave it at that?"_

"_Did you two kiss?" Yoruichi asked abruptly,_

"_Uh…kiss?"_

"_Lock lips? Smooch?"_

"_No" replied Kuroda, a bit confused, "I mean, on the cheek yes."_

_Yoruichi then asked, "how many times?"_

"_Uh…I'm not sure, I didn't really pay attention to that detail," Yoruichi gave a stare that made it quite clear she wasn't going to take that answer. "Maybe a dozen times my way"_

"_What about her way?"_

"_Well, around six or seven times probably," said Kuroda,_

_Again Yoruichi was silent for a moment before asking, "did you enjoy it?"_

"_Did I…what?! What are you, my girlfriend? Why does this even matter?"_

"_I just want to know," said Yoruichi. Kuroda didn't like that explanation but he decided to just humor the poor girl._

"_No," he answered, "in fact I hated every time it happened."_

"_Oh…good," said Yoruichi._

"_Now will you please untie me woman!"_

_Yoruichi nodded and began releasing the ropes._

"_Jeez," grumbled Kuroda as he rubbed his sore wrists, "is that seriously what you wanted to know? Why?"_

"_I just don't want you pairing yourself to a little witch like that," said Yoruichi,_

"_Trust me, never going to happen," said Kuroda as she went to untie his legs._

"_But why were you avoiding me?" she asked as she began working on the ropes._

"_I don't know," admitted Kuroda, "I just felt a little…weird, after letting you see me do that stuff."_

"_But it wasn't real right?"_

"_It wasn't, but I just…I don't know," said Kuroda, "look, can we continue this another time? I have a mission to go on pretty soon."_

"_Alright, you can go," said Yoruichi finally untying the man's legs._

"_You know," said Kuroda as he swung his legs off the bed, "you could stand to be a little less nosy. I would have talked to you eventually"_

"_What can I say? I'm curious cat"_

_#_

Those were better days, but now it seemed like none of that mattered. Time certainly had a way of tearing people apart.

It was then that a rather frantic sounding knock came from her door. Curious, Yoruichi rose form her haggard state on the couch and went to the door.

The knock came again and Yoruichi opened the door. Unexpectedly she found Rajin and Kaito there, both looking as though they'd just come out of a marathon.

"Rajin? Kaito? I thought you were back in Soul-"

"No time to explain," interrupted Rajin through puffs of breath, "where's the Commander?"

At the mention of Kuroda, Yoruichi immediately seemed to dim.

"I don't know," she said quietly, "I haven't spoken to him-"

"Do you know where he might be?" asked Kaito, "he's in some real danger right now!"

"Danger? What danger?"

"Do you know where he might be?!"

"Uh, maybe Kisuke's place…what's going on?"

"Like Rajin said, no time to explain," said Kaito as he prepared to run off.

"Wait," said Rajin, "Yoruichi, can you please come with us."

"Why?"

"Just please! If he's doing right now what I think he's doing. Then we're going to need all the help we can get!"

#

Kuroda leaped into the air, intent on attacking form above. But the Other was too quick, he jumped into the air as well, meeting Kuroda half way. He then kicked out with both his feet, connecting them with Kuroda's belly.

The resulting blow sent Kuroda tumbling into the ground where he dug a trench large enough to fit a car.

By then he had several crack ribs, two broken fingers, a dislocated shoulder, and was bleeding like a fountain. Simply rising was as much a battle as trying to keep himself alive.

"**Tell me? Did you really think that you're plan would work?"** asked the Other, **"to strand me in Hueco Mundo I mean? You knew it would come to this, you knew I would win, you knew this day that you would die. Yet you came anyway. Because you knew that if I took over your body, everything would be over. But you also knew that if you lost control in Hueco Mundo, the first thing I'd do was search for Aizen to get back. You figured that in the process I'd kill enough Espada to end the war, didn't you? Yet, perhaps I could just get one Espada and get them to open a portal for me. Did you ever think of that?"**

"Is that what's going to happen?" asked Kuroda,

"**Probably not, I'll probably kill Aizen like you want. But, even after that, I'll still find my way to Soul Society, where I will wreak our vengeance. The vengeance that you were too cowardly to carry out."**

Kuroda suddenly burst forward, intent on impaling the Other. But his opponent merely moved his head to the side, dodging the attack. The Other then grabbed Kuroda by the neck and tossed him up, then slammed the pommel of his sword into Kuroda's side, leg, and arm. He then delivered a powerful kick that knocked him through the graveyard again.

Kuroda screamed at himself to rise back up, but all of his bodily functions were beginning to shut down. The Other had been brutal with his attacks. Inside of his mind was all of Kuroda's tactical know how mixed in with the savagery needed to use them properly and effectively.

Those last few strikes had hit a few nerve bunches. Kuroda's left arm dangled uselessly as did his left leg. He also noticed that he had a bit of internal bleeding where the Other had struck him.

Sticking AnShen into the ground, Kuroda attempted to use it to help push himself back up.

"**So weak"**

Kuroda looked up, knowing that the Other had already caught up.

"**you don't deserve to hold that blade,"** said the Other, kicking Kuroda's AnShen out of the dirt and causing him to fall back down.

The Other used his foot to turn Kuroda onto his back, there he lay helplessly. Mercilessly, the Other stabbed his sword into Kuroda's shoulder. Kuroda grimaced but did no more, at least not until the Other began twisting his sword. Then Kuroda gritted his teeth, it seemed the Other was going to take his time.

"**Come on, scream a little"**

"Would you?"

The Other smiled, **"A good point"**

With that, the Other wrenched his sword free from Kuroda and held it to his throat.

"**These, are the final moments of your life"**

#

On the outside, Kuroda's reiatsu shockwaves had broken down two of Hachi's barriers and already torn off some of Tessai's lower Bakudo spells. Now the entire area was constantly shaking, even out on the streets above one could feel slight tremors through the concrete.

"My god," whispered Shinji, "if this gets any worse, he might cause an earthquake or something upstairs."

"He's been in there too long," said Kisuke, "it looks like I'll have to open that portal after all"

"Portal?"

"The portal to Hueco Mundo, it was Kuroda's idea for a failsafe. In the case that things get too bad or he loses his internal battle, I am to thrown him through the portal" said Kisuke,

"What?! Isn't that a bit extreme?"

"In this case no," said Kisuke, "look at him, you can tell he's losing"

At first, Shinji couldn't. But as he took a better look, he began to see signs. A small dribble of blood was running down the corner of Kuroda's mouth and dark circles were beginning to form around his closed eyes. Even more, Shinji was sure he saw Kuroda flinch a few times.

Another shockwave of red blasted out, this one shattering the third barrier and nearly bucking of Tessai's level 90 Bakudo.

"No choice," said Kisuke, "I need to set it up now before-"

"Stop!" yelled a voice,

Kisuke turned around to see three figures running towards them. As they got closer, he saw that those three were Rajin, Kaito, and…Yoruichi?

"What are you three doing here?" asked Kisuke,

"We're here to stop Kuroda's idiotic suicidal plan!" said Yoruichi, her face plastered with rage. "Only he would think about using himself as a living bomb to attack Aizen"

"He told you?"

"No, he told me via letter," said Rajin explained, "but I couldn't let him go through with it."

Turning to the barrier Rajin cursed, "Damn! How long has he been in there?"

"45 minutes," said Kisuke, "you guys arrived just in time, I was going to open the portal to Hueco Mundo when you showed up."

"Don't even think about it," growled Kaito, "or I'll smash your hands"

Yoruichi ran up to the barrier Hachi had setup and slammed her fist down on it.

"Hey! You chauvinistic macho idiot! Wake up!" she roared, beating her fists down with each word, "wake up! Wake up so that I can put you in a coma!"

Of course her yelling fell on deaf ears.

Another shockwave burst out of Kuroda nearly knocking Yoruichi off balance.

"Kuroda you idiot! I'm not going to let you kill yourself!" she yelled again, "if you're going to die today it's because I'm going to beat some sense into you after this!"

Kuroda's response was another shockwave, this time the final barrier began to crack and the level 90 kido that had been sealing him in place finally broke off. Not only that but the ceiling of the room began to falter as well, a large piece of it fell down and nearly crushed Rose.

She then turned to Hachi "Hey! Hachi! Open up a door so I can get in right now!"

"Uh…well" the man hesitated,

"Do it now or I'll smash through!"

At that Hachi immediately opened a door up for Yoruichi which she immediately went through. Once inside she made a mad dash for Kuroda.

As she did another shockwave burst out, this one was followed with a large amount of blood that suddenly poured out from Kuroda's mouth.

Yoruichi brought up her arms in a reflexive defense, the reiatsu washed over her and she ground her teeth. The stuff burned, even through her clothes she could feel it. But that hardly deterred her, instead it gave her more drive to get to Kuroda.

More shockwaves came to impede her progress, but the Goddess of Flash used her unrivaled Shunpo to avoid them. As if in response to her prowess, the time between each shockwave suddenly decreased, with each one coming out a second after the other.

One wave came at her and she weaved around it, another came and she leapt right over. Only Yoruichi with her amazing speed could have hoped to maneuver the endless torrents of red energy.

By the time Yoruichi finally reached Kuroda, his entire body had been enveloped in massive burning flame of red reiatsu. Blood was now seeping out of his mouth and even coming out from his closed eyes.

Yoruichi reached to grab him but recoiled when the reiatsu burned her skin upon contact. Then another wave exploded out, this one stronger than those before. It blasted Yoruichi back a dozen feet before she dug her heels into the ground and recovered.

"Oh no you don't!" she growled. With even more determination coursing through her veins, Yoruichi charged back, this time she ignored the flame entirely. Her hand shot out and grabbed Kuroda by the collar of his cloak.

Yoruichi then pulled back her other hand and curled it into a fist, "Wake up!"

#

The Other stood in Kuroda's inner world, his eyes squinted and his once smiling face now a frown. Kuroda had been right in front of him, he had just been about to sink his sword into the man's throat. But instead of flesh and blood, his blade had found nothing more than dirt.

Kuroda was no longer in his inner world, something had pulled him out and foiled the Other's attempt to take control.

The frown turned into a scowl as he lifted his blade out from the dirt.

No matter, he had waited this long to be free and he could wait a little longer. Whoever had saved Kuroda had only delayed the inevitable.

Tugging on the last strap on his jacket he was pleased to find it looser than before.

At best, Kuroda had one more day.

**End**

**A/N**

**Hey people, I'm alive! Yeah, sorry about not updating sooner. But things had just been horrible for me in real life, I mean I got sick, I had finals, lots of horribleness. But that has passed and I feel better, so here's a new chapter.**

**Thanks for sticking out long enough for it to come out.**

**It's a bit of a short one for pacing reasons but the next one hopefully won't take too long to come out. Better be ready for it because it will contain some making up between Kuroda and Yoruichi finally. I'm pretty excited about it myself.**

**You also may have notice that I changed my pen name. The reason for that is my own but suffice to say the old one started feeling a bit weird.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and please look forward to the next one.**

**Bye Bye!**


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Confession

Kuroda opened his eyes slowly.

Things were a bit fuzzy at first and thus he did not immediately take note of where he was. He suspected that it had something to do with the ache on the side of his head, it felt like it had been hit with a wrecking ball. Sitting up and giving himself a quick shake, he pushed the pain aside and took in his surroundings.

He was, much to his own dismay, not in the sandy dunes of Hueco Mundo. That was a shame, he was hoping to kill something in order to distract his mind from the pain. But no, instead he found himself still in the underground training area of Kisuke's shop.

The man sighed. The plan must have gone awry because if it had gone to plan he would most likely be killing Espada right about now. How he was still alive, he had no idea.

"I see you're awake now."

Kuroda turned to see Kisuke casually lounging on a rock nearby.

"I would have moved you but I was afraid that my hands would burn off," said the shopkeeper as he walked over. He extended a hand which Kuroda took and helped him to his feet.

"What time is it?" asked the dark haired man,

"About 6:00 AM in the morning," replied Kisuke,

Great, that meant that the Vizard had gone home already. Which also meant that it would be some time before he could have a second try.

"What happened?" he asked, "I shouldn't be here, physically or mentally"

Kisuke smiled though it was a bit somber, "we had an…unplanned interruption."

Kuroda furrowed his brows and scowled, signaling that he was in no mood for games.

"Yoruichi happened,"

Kuroda sighed in exasperation then let out a small growl. Damn woman! She'd ruined everything!

"I'll go get the Vizard again tonight," said Kuroda, "I need you to setup the portal again and-"

"No"

"Excuse me?" Kuroda asked, whipping around dangerously to face his friend.

"I said no," repeated Kisuke,

"This is not up for discussion Urahara," growled Kuroda, "unless you want a psychopath ravaging the town, we have to do this and soon!"

"No Kuroda," Kisuke said for the third time, "it was hard enough for me to do it the first time, I can't bring myself to do it again."

"This is not time for games,"

"I know, but I'm going to be selfish and keep myself out of this one," said Kisuke, "my work has already caused pain for eight of my friends, I won't help another kill himself."

"So…what? You're just going to let me do this on my own?"

"I'm sure you're more than capable of finding a way,"

"Kisuke this is not just something I **want** to do, okay? This is something that has to be done! Do you think I like the idea of handing my body over to that monster? I don't! But I can't beat him! He's not like a hollow! There is no epiphany, no burst of anger, no key that will suddenly give me the strength to beat him! Hueco Mundo is somewhere that he can at least be contained. I'm not doing this for myself, I'm doing this because I care about everyone else. If he gets out, the first people he will go after is all of you!"

Kisuke paused for a moment as though considering what Kuroda had said. Kuroda thought and hoped that Kisuke might change his mind. But in the end, Kisuke shook his head.

"I'm sorry Kuroda but I can't do it. If I helped you with this, I'd never be able to forgive myself and I'd be hurting too many others in the process."

At those words, Kuroda wanted to lash out at the shopkeeper. But he kept his anger back and buried it deep within himself. Kisuke's path was now clear, Kuroda could see that.

Without another word he turned towards the exit and left.

#

To say that Kuroda stomped across town back home would have been a understatement. It was more like he burned a bloody spiritual path on his way back.

Most people just saw an angry man, anyone with ties to the spiritual world saw something much different. They saw a fire burning on the street that would disintegrate anything that touched it. It was so bad that when a stray hollow, one of no particular threat, was within thirty meters it simply burst in a fountain of blood.

Even the shinigami in the town could feel it. Breathing for them suddenly became harder, as though it was summer and the humidity had risen.

By the time Kuroda arrived back in his apartment he could have set the whole town a blaze. Kisuke had been the only one he had known that would have been able to open a portal to Hueco Mundo for him. He suspected Captain Kurotsuchi could do it as well but he was the last person Kuroda wanted to ask help from.

Other than those two the only others that could open a portal to the Hollow homeland were the Hollows themselves. That was definitely not an option.

Kuroda sighed as always did, by now it was becoming a reflex. That was probably a bad sign, he recalled one time Mei said that every time he sighed he was sighing out his happiness. Given his mental stability he was giving some thought that her theory might be true.

Regardless, he needed to do something. At the very worst he'd be forced to try and hold on till Aizen made his move and then let the Other out.

Suicide wasn't an option anymore, any move he tried to make would most likely be met with retaliation. The Other wanted Kuroda dead but not before it managed to take over.

Again he sighed. Things would have been so much easier if Yoruichi had simply not come to the shop and not interfered. Wait a moment, Yoruichi came to the shop. Why? She had no reason to and she knew nothing of what was going on that night.

So why was she there? Kisuke's underground training area was built so that no one could sense reiatsu through its walls so she couldn't have sensed the waves of power he had been spewing out.

That could only mean that someone had told her.

Kisuke was automatically eliminated, Kuroda had kept a close eye on him the past few days and knew he'd said nothing.

The Vizard were dismissed as a possibility as well, they knew nothing.

In fact the only other person to have known about it was…Rajin. That damned letter must have gotten to his hands quicker than he predicted.

He sighed for a third time.

He was getting sloppy, or old, maybe both.

"I know you're there," he whispered.

Almost immediately two shadows in his room broke off on their own. Those shadows began to take form and rise up from the ground, the form they took was that of his Lieutenant and 3rd seat.

Currently the two stood behind him, but even without his eyes on them Kuroda could tell they were nervous. They were members of the Black Ops, stone cold killers, masters of remaining calm, but even they had their tells.

Kaito was unconsciously rubbing his heel into the floor, Rajin was rubbing his index finger and thumb together. Both had slightly elevated levels of breathing and were straining to keep their reiatsu from fluctuating.

Rajin was the first to try to speak, "Sir, I-"

"Quiet!" snapped Kuroda. Rajin immediately stopped himself and reflexively snapped straight. Several agonizing moments passed before Kuroda spoke again. "Come around where I can see you."

The two hesitated at first.

"Now" Kuroda growled. The two hurried after that, they stood right in front of him at attention. Kuroda raised his eyes up. Both of them were in perfect posture, not even the pickiest drill sergeant could have found something wrong with them.

But Kuroda still emanated murderous intent.

"Kaito," he began, "did you deliver my letter to Rajin as per instructed?"

"Yes sir," Kaito replied,

"Rajin, can you confirm that Kaito delivered the letter?"

"Yes sir, he gave it to me the moment he returned to Soul Society," replied Rajin,

"I see," said Kuroda, "can you tell me what went through your mind when you read it?"

"I…was concerned, sir. I didn't know what to make of what I read, I just knew that I couldn't let you go through with…your plan," Rajin said, his voice shaking slightly. "I know that I went against orders doing this and I'll accept full responsibility for-"

"Responsibility," interrupted Kuroda, "do you know what that word means Rajin?"

"Sir?"

"It means that you are accountable to your actions, it means you carry a burden voluntarily regardless of what will happen, it means that even if the consequence is death that you will face it because you are responsible," said Kuroda his voice rising with each example. "I am responsible Rajin. I am responsible for a great deal of things, for many terrible acts, and because I am responsible I have been deemed worthy of death."

"But sir-"

"I thought that you would be responsible as well Rajin," Kuroda cut in, "instead you disobey my orders and dodge the responsibility like a child unwilling to perform his daily chores."

"Commander, it wasn't because I didn't want command of the squad. It was because-"

"Because what?!" Kuroda exploded to his feet, "if your reasoning is simply because you don't want me to give up on life, then I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear any more talk that what I'm doing is wrong or that I should be trying to find another way! I deserve this damn it!"

This time Kaito spoke, "Kuroda you're not as bad a-"

"Not as bad a person as I think I am?" finished Kuroda, "is that what you think, that I'm doing this just because I think I'm a bad person? No brothers, I'm doing this because it is my responsibility and because I deserve it. For God knows how long I've been the prison for demons and the devil's secrets! My entire existence has been devoted to keeping others safe!"

Kuroda paused for a moment, taking in a hard breath.

"And when I failed that responsibility, by killing my own father when it should have been another, I was punished appropriately." Both Kaito and Rajin winced at what they knew to be a taboo subject for their brother. "I served my time in the world in a way that brought peace to others and tortured my soul in the process. I was gifted with a power that could keep billions alive and destroyed me in the process. I have kept my responsibility, I have accepted the consequences accordingly, death is the last consequence that I need to take. It will be my final punishment, but it will also be the salvation I have been waiting for."

Both the Lieutenant and the 3rd seat widened their eyes for a moment.

Kuroda fell back into his seat. "Most people are afraid of death and that's fine, it makes the human. But I'm not human and I'm not most people. I want the utter oblivion that being dead brings to your mind, I want the weightlessness of being able to feel nothing. Yet as both punishment and responsibility my death was to have a consequence and thus I cannot simply take my own life. I am the prison and the moment the prison breaks, the monsters get out."

Silence permeated the air for a long agonizing moment. No one moved, no one spoke, the only distinguishable sound was the rhythmic breathing of all three men in the room. Kaito and Rajin had lowered their eyes to the floor, whether in shame or despair did not matter, for they both knew now that they could not stop their brother.

"Leave," Kuroda suddenly said, "both of you. I'll leave instructions for Rajin's promotion with Teruno."

Kaito bowed first then moved towards the door, his steps betraying his emotions as he nearly stumbled all the way.

Rajin stood as his friend walked away.

"Commander, I didn't want to follow your orders because I had the choice to let someone I considered family die or let them live, something I thought you might appreciate."

With that the Lieutenant bowed low then walked toward the door and exited with Kaito, leaving Kuroda alone once more.

When he heard the door shut close and he was sure that he was alone, Kuroda sighed again. That was the fourth time by his count.

He had meant every word he'd said, was it so wrong for him to covet death? Besides, it wasn't like his body would be dead, it would still be around albeit not with the same personality.

Kuroda covered his eyes with his hands.

"God, what did I do?"

It was a silly question, he knew what he'd done. But that didn't mean he had to like the cards the higher beings had given him.

Attempting to push his own personal issues aside, Kuroda attempted to think of a way to deal with his immediate crisis. No ideas came to his mind and thus he wasted a good hour simply sitting on his couch watching as the sun eventually rose.

Eventually he decided that a walk around town would do him some good.

So that's what he did.

Kuroda walked rather aimlessly, simply picking a direction and going that way regardless of what was actually there. As he walked, he began to reminisce of a time when things had been better. He began to wonder what would have happened if he hadn't killed his father.

Kuroda knew he was always destined to walk this path, maybe if his father had been alive not as much misery would have come down on him. It was a nice thought, but it was also distracting.

"You look like a man troubled by thoughts," said a familiar voice,

Kuroda turned to face Teruno, currently in his gigai dressed as a Buddhist monk. Amazingly enough despite the connotatively peaceful attire, the man still managed to look very intimidating.

"I'm always troubled," reminded Kuroda, "today just happens to be especially bad."

"Then perhaps I can help," offered Teruno, "may I walk with you?"

Kuroda shrugged and continued on his way, this time with Teruno at his side.

"What troubles you this time friend?"

"Remember that brilliant plan that I mentioned to you when I gave you the letter for delivery?"

"Of course,"

"Didn't go so well, Rajin and Kaito came back and interrupted the process, they even managed to get Yoruichi's help," explained Kuroda. "I can't really blame them though, they don't understand."

"Understand what?"

"My…condition," said Kuroda, "and the responsibility that comes with it."

"and what is that responsibility."

"To die," Kuroda said immediately, "death is my punishment and my salvation. My death will release a devil but that devil will destroy Aizen and his forces."

"And?"

"And free me from the torture of life," said Kuroda, after a moment he noted, "you do not approve."

"Of course I do not, would you?"

"I already do," said Kuroda, "I don't really care that the culmination of my existence is simply to die so that another may be free. Death for me will bring peace, I won't have to live anymore worrying about how to solve my problems, or if something is morally correct, or even what will happen the next day. It's really not so bad once you think about it."

"The fact that you have thought about it, worries me greatly," said Teruno, "the fact that you have convinced yourself that what you think is correct, worries me even more."

Kuroda sighed and mentally noted that was the fifth time. "Everybody's worried, quite frankly I wish they wouldn't. I would like my last days to be peaceful not full of people telling me not to die."

"You are convinced that you are right and the others are wrong"

"I never said that, but I know what I have to do."

"No Commander, nobody knows what they **have** to do," corrected Teruno, "people, even you, only **think** they know what they should do."

Kuroda paused in his steps, furrowed his eyebrows, and turned to his companion. "What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what you think," replied Teruno, "if I may be so bold Commander, your vision is rather narrow."

Kuroda flinched but did not lash out or interrupt his friend, instead he kept quiet and allowed Teruno to continue.

"You think that you know what is best for yourself, that death is what you are meant for. You only think that this is your destined path and that there is no other. And that is fine, people often believe they know what's best for themselves. But what they fail to remember is that there are others who can look at them from an unbiased point of view, that there are others who have different ideas on what is best."

"Now you're just talking about opinions," snorted Kuroda,

"Everything's an opinion," countered Teruno, "the idea that Shinigami are good and Hollows are evil is an opinion. The idea that civilized people live in the more modern cities is an opinion."

Kuroda rolled his eyes, "my belief is not an opinion, its fact."

"To you, to **you**" said Teruno, "but to everyone else, it is simply an opinion. Trying to shut out other's opinions does no one any good."

"What are you saying Teruno?" asked Kuroda, drawing his hands across his forehead, "just tell it to me straight because I am honestly not in the mood for riddles."

"What I am saying Commander, is that maybe you should try listening to others for a change. Perhaps ask them to share their opinions."

"No offense but listening to what others tell me to do has not always worked out favorably. I listened to my Commander years ago and look where that got me."

"Then do it because you don't want to leave this world without talking to those closest to you one last time."

Kuroda raised an eyebrow, "by 'those closest' you mean Yoruichi, don't you?"

Teruno smiled but did not respond.

Kuroda sighed, striking up the sixth tally mark, then muttering "damn it,"

"Is something wrong?"

"Now I have to go see her,"

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, no, it's just that…I'm not sure I have the courage," he admitted, "she's probably pretty mad at me on account of last night's events. Pray for me because talking to her is probably going to be the biggest challenge of my life."

Teruno put him a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Kuroda sighed, raising his count to seven, "I suppose I should go see her then."

But before he could even take the first step his cellphone rang. Seizing the opportunity to avoid his current course of action, he quickly pulled out his phone and answered.

"Moshi Moshi…I see, alright I'll be there," with that he hung up and replaced the phone back in his pocket. "Seems there is to be a meeting today, I need to attend."

"And avoid seeing Yoruichi,"

"I'll meet with her after," assured Kuroda as he walked off,

"Be sure that you do," Teruno whispered under his breath. Unconsciously he rubbed the rosary beads around his neck and hoped to see his Commander the next day.

#

Kuroda arrived at Orihime's apartment, where the meeting was being held, not long after he'd parted ways with Teruno. As he approached the door he saw Ichigo and the Captain of the 10th enter before him.

Quietly as he could, he slipped in after them without anyone else noticing. The purpose of the meeting had not been revealed to him and that could only mean that something big was up. In situations like this he preferred to remain anonymous till needed.

The inside of Orihime's apartment had been outfitted with one of those ridiculously large screens that Soul Society used to communicate with operatives in the world of the living.

He did immediately notice however, that Orihime was not present. He had heard that she'd gone to Soul Society, but she should have come back by now.

The screen flashed on and Captain Ukitake appeared. Kuroda listened carefully from his corner, choosing not to reveal himself just yet.

The meeting started out harmlessly enough, but when the subject switched over to Orihime, things started heating up.

According to Captain Ukitake, Orihime had either been captured or killed by an Arrancar while coming back from Soul Society. Both Rukia and Ichigo were appalled by this hypothesis and wouldn't believe it. Ichigo even brought out evidence that Orihime was still around: his wounds which had miraculously healed.

Kuroda winced, "damn it kid"

"I see," said a new voice from behind Ukitake, one belonging to none other than the Captain Commander "that is a pity"

"Pity? What the hell are you talking about?" demanded Ichigo,

"If what you say is true, then Orihime Inoue is indeed still alive. But at the same time, this is undeniable evidence that she has turned traitor," explained the Captain Commander, "if she had simply been captured, then she would not have been able to see you. Healing your injuries, then returning to the Arrancar can only mean that she has joined their forces of her own free will."

That struck a nerve with Ichigo, he immediately lashed out, "you son of a-"

"Ichigo!" Renji grabbed his friend by the shoulder and held him back, "if you say anything more it'll just make things worse."

Renji then stepped forward, "Captain Commander, I Abarai Renji, Lieutenant of the 6th division would like permission to go to Hueco Mundo and bring the traitor Orihime Inoue back."

The Captain Commander immediately replied, "permission denied, the Arrancar are clearly preparing for battle, that is why I am ordering all of our advanced guard to return to help fortify Soul Society's defenses."

"So, we're abandoning Orihime" said Rukia,

"Yes, the weight of one life cannot compare to that of the entire world," said Yamamoto,

"I respectfully disagree," said Kuroda, finally speaking up and startling everyone. He confidentally walked up to the screen, "I don't think you quite understand the magnitude of Orihime's betrayal old man."

"Kuroda, you dare-"

"I have seen first hand what Orihime's powers can do. She can save even the most mortally wounded from death, I would argue that its possible she can revive the death if given a body and enough time," interrupted Kuroda, "having her on Aizen's side would be a serious disadvantage."

"Then what do you suggest?" asked Yamamoto,

"I suggest you use my division for what they were trained for," said Kuroda, "as Commander of the Black Ops division, I order the elimination of the traitor Orihime."

Everyone was shocked by his words, Ichigo in particular. The teen grabbed Kuroda by the collar and held them face to face, "you bastard! After all she's done for us you put a hit out on-"

Kuroda brought his knee up into Ichigo's stomach, causing the teen to keel over and fall to the ground.

"Ichigo!" Rukia ran to his side,

Kuroda returned his attention to the screen, ignoring the glares he was receiving. "Orihime could be used by the Arrancar as the ultimate medic, she could potentially revive Arrancar that we kill if she is simply given their bodies or even a piece of their mask. If that is the case, then we will be fighting an unwinnable war."

"But I can send in a small team to infiltrate Hueco Mundo, then find Orihime and eliminate her," he continued, "she may have remarkable healing abilities but her combat skills have always been lacking. Killing her would be a trivial matter but it could make the difference between victory or defeat,"

When Captain Commander remained silent, he asked, "is that not a reasonable use of our resources old man?"

After a few moments of consideration, Yamamoto finally relented.

"Very well Kuroda, I will allow you to try for the sake of Soul Society's survival," the elderly Shinigami said, albeit quite reluctantly.

"Good," said Kuroda, with that he walked towards the exit.

"The rest of you however, will return to Soul Society immediately," ordered the Captain Commander,

"Forgive me sir," said Rukia, "but I cannot follow those orders."

"I thought as much," said Yamamoto, "fortunately I anticipated such reactions and made special arrangements."

The room was suddenly filled with bright light. Everyone turned around to see a senkaimon opening up, from out of the gate two figures emerged. When the light died down, the group saw who had been sent.

"You guys heard him," said the grizzly voice of Captain Zaraki, "time to go back"

"Don't resist," said Captain Kuchiki, "we've been ordered to take you back by force if necessary."

By now Ichigo was so angry that he could barely contain himself. One by one the shinigami disappeared into the gate. Rukia was the last one to leave, before the gate closed she gave him one last look.

He met her eyes and though she didn't say anything, he knew what she was trying to tell him.

The gate's doors closed, leaving him alone in Orihime's room.

He would have stayed there for the rest of the day, if a hand did not suddenly grab him by the collar and drag him out into the sun.

"Hey who-" Ichigo stopped when he saw who had pulled him out. "Kuroda"

"Get up," Ichigo did, then immediately threw a punch at the man. Kuroda allowed the blow to hit, it was best to allow the young man to vent. "I can't believe what you just did! How could you-"

"I'm putting you on the team," interrupted Kuroda,

Ichigo paused, "what?"

"You're going to be on the hit team" said Kuroda, "go to Urahara's tonight, we'll have a way for you to get into Hueco Mundo."

Ichigo furrowed his brows and narrowed his eyes, "you're going to send me to kill my own friend? You really think I'll do something like that you damn psycho!"

Kuroda winced at the 'psycho' comment but allowed it to slide. "No, I expect you to go to Hueco Mundo. From there, the decision of how to operate is up to you."

That made Ichigo pause again, this time he cocked an eyebrow up and asked, "what are you getting at?"

"Commanders often defer to the field agent's judgment in missions that they don't take part of," said Kuroda, "I'm simply doing what any Commander would do."

It finally clicked with Ichigo, when it did he smiled the widest smile he'd ever had. "You're sending me to rescue her!"

"No, I'm sending you to kill a traitor," said Kuroda, putting an emphasis on the word traitor. This time Ichigo received the message loud and clear, if Orihime wasn't a traitor then he wouldn't have to kill her.

"Urahara's, tonight," Kuroda repeated, "don't be late."

#

Kuroda had immediately went to Kisuke's to inform him of the situation. The shopkeeper immediately agreed to Kuroda's plan and began to set up a gateway to Hueco Mundo, this time for a better cause. Kuroda for his part stayed at Kisuke's attempting to help and inadvertently avoiding his eventual visit to Yoruichi's.

When Ichigo finally arrived, Kisuke and Kuroda were waiting out front.

"I'm glad to see you again Ichigo," greeted Kisuke, "Kuroda is such horrible company.

"Mr. Urahara," Ichigo nodded, "thank you for setting this up."

"No need, no need, I'm glad to help out. After all, a good deal of this is my fault isn't it?" joked Urahara, he then slid the door open and gestured them in. "come in, come in, best we get started."

From there the three of them traveled down to the training area where Urahara had set up a gate before.

"I was afraid that Aizen might try to go after Orihime's abilities so I attempted to take her out of the fight. But I should have suspected that wouldn't work," admitted Kisuke, "your lot are so stubborn when it comes to helping each other out."

"Since this is my fault, I plan on helping you any way I can," finished Kisuke, "thanks to Kuroda, I can do it legally."

"I took the liberty of gathering some back up for you," added Kuroda,

"Back up? Who?"

"I'd rather not be referred to as back up, that makes me sound like Ichigo's lesser". The Substitute Shinigami looked up to see Uryu sitting on top of a rock, patiently waiting for them.

"Uryu? What are you doing here?"

"For the same reason I'm here," said another voice, "were going to Hueco Mundo with you."

"Chad?" said Ichigo when he saw his friend appear as well.

"Mr. Urahara told us everything, we're going to help you"

Ichigo seemed stunned by the bravery of his friends, but he quickly said "No! I appreciate the offer, but you guys just aren't strong enough to-"

"Ichigo!" Chad cut in, the big man drew back his arm and morphed it into his weapon. Without warning his rushed forward and struck out. Ichigo was caught off guard, by his friend's speed and barely had enough time to use the flat of Zangetsu to block.

Then he felt the force of Chad's blow and was shocked by his power, which sent him skidding back quite a few meters and sent out far reach shockwaves.

"Am I still not strong enough?" asked Chad, "whether you like it or not, we're coming with you."

Uryu jumped down from his perch and landed next to Chad as though affirming their position.

"Alright! Alright!" yelled Kisuke, "enough showing off! Time for you to get going!"

Kisuke brought them to the gate which consisted of two large wooden beam stuck inside the face of a rock, parallel to each other. Kisuke jumped on top of one beam and rubbed his hands together.

"Alright! I'm going to open the gate, brace yourselves and try not to get sucked in!"

As he shouted his warning, Kuroda noted the three weak reiatsu signals entering the shop above. It seems that they had guests.

Kisuke touched his cane to the wooden beam and began to chant the incantation.

"My right hand is the stone that bridges worlds. My left hand is the blade that binds reality. The black haired shepherd is hung from a chair. Clouds come, and I strike down the bird!"

Power began pouring out from his hands and was channeled through his cane into the wooden beam. Soon a thread of power jumped from the beam Kisuke stood upon and attached itself to the other. Then the thread split into the shape of an eye, a pure black eye.

"This is the hole that Arrancar use to travel," explained Kisuke, "it is call a Garganta. There aren't any paths inside, only a constant turbulent flow of reishi particles. You're going to have to use those reishi particles to make your own pathway. Just head towards the darkness and you'll reach Hueco Mundo."

"I see, thanks Urahara," said Ichigo, the teen then turned to Kuroda. "Kuroda, can you talk to my family? Make sure they don't worry about me?"

Kuroda nodded, "I'll see to it."

"What about your friends?" asked Kisuke,

Ichigo lowered his eyes, "I'll apologize to them once I get back,"

Kisuke nodded, "good luck to you then."

Ichigo returned the nod, "Let's get going!"

With a single push of his legs, the Substitute Shinigami leapt forward into the portal closely followed by his two friends. The Garganta closed after them, sowing back together the tear in the air as though it had never existed.

Kisuke smiled, "There's no need to hid anymore, he's gone!"

Kuroda didn't bother to turn around as he heard someone fall to the ground and the footsteps of two others follow.

"Um…when did you notice we were here?" Keigo asked nervously,

"We've known you'd come since before you got here," replied Kisuke, "I knew you three were following Ichigo around, that's why I left the door open, that's also why I left the floor panel off."

Kisuke chuckled, "my, my, Ichigo is as naïve as ever, he thought that he could cut his ties with his friends by acting cold, but that never actually works."

Kuroda didn't miss the glance Kisuke shot in his direction. "Don't you have some preparing of your own to do?"

"That I do, that I do," nodded Kisuke, jumping down from the wooden beam, "I guess I best get to it. Don't you have an appointment with a lovely young lady?"

Kuroda didn't respond, instead he simply walked off towards the exit, beckoning the three high school students to follow as he went.

#

Outside, Kuroda stopped at the front of the shop, making sure to close the door on his way out.

"You three should go home now," he instructed, "don't worry about Ichigo, he'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" asked Keigo," would if he gets captured by some horrible monsters, then put into some hellish prison where he's slowly tortured by a bunch of sick perverted games and-ow!"

"Thank you Mr. Ryou," said Mizuro after hitting Keigo upside the head, "we'll be going now."

The two boys headed off, Tatsuki however remained, worry quite evident on her face.

"Don't worry Tatsuki, Orihime will be back soon," assured Kuroda, "go home now, you aren't helping anyone by staying out here in the cold."

"I know," she replied, her voice near quivering, "its just…I wish I could help get Orihime back, not just sit here and hope."

"You'd only be getting in the way if you'd gone," Kuroda reminded her, "you have no powers. Go home now, get some rest."

Tatsuki nodded, then reluctantly began walking back to her apartment.

When Kuroda was sure she was on her way, he sighed for the seventh time of the day. Now it was time for him to fulfill his own obligation, though quite honest he was nearly frozen from the very idea of it.

#

Yoruichi sat on the sofa in the apartment provided to her and Mei by Kuroda, mindlessly flipping through TV channels. She didn't actually want to watch TV, she just needed something to take her mind off 'him'.

She had been worried for 'him' before, worried sick even. But now she was just mad, incredibly mad at him, she'd never been this mad at him. She suspected that if she never saw him again that she wouldn't mind.

The sound of knocking suddenly pulled her out of her own thoughts. Without really thinking she got up from the couch and went to the door.

Not bother to check who it was first, she opened the door. There she found the last person she wanted to see.

"Hi," Kuroda said sheepishly,

Yoruichi immediately slammed the door in his face.

"Yoruichi!" Kuroda called from the other side, "I just want to talk!"

Yoruichi didn't even bother to respond, she just went back to the couch and began flipping through channels again.

"Yoruichi!" Kuroda knocked on the door, "open up…please?"

"Go jump off a cliff!" she yelled back,

Kuroda winced, "ouch"

But truthfully he probably deserved that. Kuroda continued knocking for a solid 30 seconds, then he suddenly stopped. Yoruichi assumed that he'd probably given up and gone home.

"Yoruichi?", she turned her eyes up to see that Mei had woken up and was sticking her head out of her room, "is something going on?"

"No Mei, it's nothing," assured Yoruichi, "go back to sleep"

Suddenly their front door unlocked itself and opened, allowing Kuroda to step in. Curteously he closed the door behind him and locked it, then invited himself in.

"Dad!" Mei cried giddily,

"Hey Mei," he said, "what are you doing up?"

"I heard some noise," she explained, "thought a hollow was attacking or something."

"Oh, that was me looking for my keys," explained Kuroda, "I couldn't find them and got angry."

"Oh okay," said Mei, too tired to pry and farther, "good night"

"Good night,"

Both adults waited till they heard Mei close her door, leaving them in a rather awkward position of silence.

"Why do you have a key to my apartment?" Yoruichi asked suspiciously,

"I do own the place," Kuroda pointed out, "it only makes sense that I'd have a backup key to the place."

Yoruichi sighed and Kuroda mentally noted that it wasn't him for once. The purple haired woman rubbed her temples and asked, "what do you want?"

"I'm…not sure to be honest," admitted Kuroda, "I guess I just felt like I had to come here."

Yoruichi cocked an eyebrow, obviously she was not going to make this easy on Kuroda.

"Listen," said Kuroda, sitting down on the couch next to her, "uh…I've been going through the day. People have been pointing out to me that I've been…"

Kuroda trailed off and Yoruichi finished for him, "an asshole?"

"Well I was going to say unfair," said Kuroda, "but yeah, I haven't been a very good friend and I haven't been very open minded."

Yoruichi nodded rather mockingly.

"I know I've been very distant and cold. I told myself and everyone else that it was for the better and that it was the right thing to do. But recently I saw Ichigo do the same thing and…it wasn't good."

"Did you also tell yourself that committing suicide was the right thing to do too?" she asked, "because honestly I thought we'd crossed the bridge where we were clear on what was and was not okay."

"Um…yeah," Kuroda fumbled, "I'm not exactly stable, so I might sometimes forget where the boundries are. I realize that my methods may sometimes be a little, extreme. But to be quite honest I don't really see the world the same way as everyone else so, my definition of extreme may be different."

Yoruichi shook her head, "I just can't see anyone thinking that suicide is not extreme."

"It helps when you feel like you've been tortured by simply existing for a couple centuries," explained Kuroda, "and when you have some rather nasty characters lurking around your head."

Yoruichi shook her head again.

"You're mad at me," deduced Kuroda,

"Of course I'm mad at you, you tried to take your own life. Worse you went around my back to do it."

"Technically it wasn't attempted suicide, I just acknowledged that my chances of surviving were very low," Kuroda tried,

"Kuroda, they have a word for that. It's called, suicide mission."

Kuroda sucked in his breath, "yeah, it is called that."

"I guess, I don't know, maybe I just felt like I couldn't deal with it or that I shouldn't have to deal with it," said Kuroda, his voice slowly rising, "I mean, haven't I been through enough? I was born in the worst possible district, I spent my life doing the dirty work no one else wanted to do, I killed my own father for god sakes. Maybe I just felt like the universe owed me a bit of reprieve."

"And that reprieve is death?"

"It's not so bad when you think about it," he said, "its like sleeping and besides, with the cycle and all I'll be reborn again as something else."

Yoruichi glared at him for a good long moment and as usual, Kuroda wasn't quite sure what he'd done wrong.

"You're a selfish idiot," she finally said,

Kuroda was a bit taken aback, "how so?"

"Because, idiot, you're still being narrow minded. All I keep hearing is how this won't affect you! That's been your same argument this entire time, you don't care if you die, you're doing this for the greater good, you want a reprieve from life. Have you ever thought about others?"

"I do!" he protested, "I do what I do so that no one else will have to suffer!"

"But have you ever thought the suffering that you cause?"

Kuroda furrowed his brows, evidentially he had not.

"What do you think will happen if you die?" Yoruichi let the question hang in the air for a moment, when Kuroda didn't respond, she continued, "how do you think everybody else would feel? Have you ever even given it a thought?"

"Think about Kisuke, he's your best friend! He already suffers from enough guilt with what happened to Hiyori, Shinji and the others. If you died, do you think he would do anything else but blame himself? Do you want that to happen to him?"

"It won't be his fault"

"What about Kaito and Rajin? They're your brothers! You've grown up with them, you saved them! They look up to you! How do you think they'll react when they see the man who saved them kill himself?"

"They'll understand sacrifice,"

"What about Mei?"

That one shut Kuroda up.

"How do you think she's going to feel when her father dies? Her only family, dead, leaving her alone in the world. She's not a little girl anymore but she's still young enough to need her father."

"She isn't alone, she has others."

"Like you had others when you're father died,"

Kuroda noticeably flinched, it had been a low blow but had gotten the point across. The death of Kuroda's father had done terrible things to him. If there was one thing he never wanted to have happen to another human being, it was for them to go through what he had.

"I…hadn't really thought of that," he admitted, lowering his eyes.

"No, you didn't, you were too busy thinking of yourself" Yoruichi shot back, "you know, now that I think about it, I'm not going to let you kill yourself."

Kuroda scowled, "I'm not asking for your permission"

"What, so you don't care that you'll hurt everyone else in your life by getting what you want?"

Kuroda seemed to find it hard to speak, "I thought you accepted who I was and what I was, I feel like if everyone was like you that they'd accept this too."

"Yes, I accept you because, you're my friend, because I care about you, because love you!"

Silence fell upon them.

Kuroda was very still. A small breeze of air could have hit him and he would have fallen over, he must have heard that wrong. But when he turned to Yoruichi she seemed to be just as shocked by what she'd said.

Kuroda lifted his eyes back up and settled his gaze on her, "you, love me?"

His heart pounded with every word he spoke, each time it felt as though it might burst through his chest or shatter into a thousand pieces.

Yoruichi shook her head, "in a…brotherly sisterly way."

But Kuroda could not be swayed, "that's not what it sounded like."

Yoruichi closed her eyes tightly and covered her mouth with her hand. It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

"How…I mean…when" Kuroda fumbled,

Yoruichi didn't respond at first and instead turned away from him. Then he heard her take in a shaky breath of air, when she turned back to him he could tell she was very distraught.

"I don't know," said Yoruichi, "it's just always been there, I didn't have some giant epiphany or anything. It just happened over time and sat there in the back of my mind."

Her eyes looked a bit red and she seemed to be on the brink of tears. She most not have thought about it herself.

"Damn it now you've got me questioning myself too. I mean to be honest you're one of the most messed up men I've ever met. You've got a body trail long enough to go around the world, you're always pushing me away, and to be honest it's not like you're the only man in my life. There are plenty of others who would have caused me a lot less trouble and would have been great matches. But all those years I was stuck on you."

Yoruichi flashed him a sad smile, "you're a thick headed jerk, but you're my thick headed jerk and I couldn't imagine my life without you."

Kuroda just stared at her, mouth open as though trying to form words.

"Aren't you going to say anything?"

"I…I don't…I don't know what to say," struggled Kuroda,

Yoruichi buried her face in her hands, "you never do."

With no words, Kuroda fell back on action. He grabbed Yoruichi's hands in his own and pulled them away from her face, exposing her distress. Carefully he lifted up his hand and gently wiped away the tears under each eye.

Returning their hands back together, he gave her a comforting squeeze and said, "I'm sorry,"

Almost eagerly, Kuroda stooped up and walked out.

The trip back to his apartment seemed nonexistent.

The moment he was inside, he made his way towards the kitchen to get a glass of water to drink.

But when he neared the faucet with his cup, his hands fumbled and the glass shattered on the floor. Anger exploded through Kuroda and he lashed out the nearest object, which happened to be his fridge. His fist dented the metal and left his gigai's knuckles bloody.

Suddenly exhausted, he fell against the fridge and sat there amongst the shattered bits of glass.

How had things come to this? After how hard he'd tried, how did she love him? It would have been so much easier if everyone simply hated him, but instead he was surrounded by loving, wonderful, understanding people.

He now knew that there would be no salvation for him, he could not go to his final rest knowing that he would leave behind so much suffering for the same people he had been trying to spare from suffering.

Now he had to force himself to win.

Turning his eyes up he whispered, "God, or whoever might be up there, help me through this because I can't do it on my own."

Unconsciously his eyes drifted to the photo he kept on the fridge, the one of Kisuke, Yoruichi, and himself as teenagers. He took it down and held it to his eyes.

Yoruichi

For her

Taking in a deep breath, Kuroda kept the picture close his chest. He then closed his eyes and fell asleep.

#

A single second later, he opened them.

Unfortunately he opened them to see that as planned, he was in his inner world.

"_Why hello Kuroda"_

He whipped around and saw his Other, sitting on a tombstone with AnShen in his hands.

"_Welcome back home"_

**End**

**A/N**

**Cliffhanger! Yeah, sorry about that, but as it stands the chapter is pretty long and hey, some big things happened right?**

**I hope this is enough to satisfy you for a while.**

**I'm sorry I haven't been able to update for over two months, seriously shit is happening for me and I don't have a lot of free time.**

**But don't worry, the story isn't discontinued.**

**Please review, follow, and favorite and please look forward to the next chapter.**

**Bye Bye!**


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43  
>Battle of Karakura part 1<p>

"_Welcome home"_

Welcome home, those words rang in Kuroda's ears like a great bell. Was this his home? Was this where he belonged? This desolate plain, filled with countless graves. Where the sun never shone and every moment the great fire of the sky rained down and threatened to destroy all that was left.

Yes, given what he had done perhaps this was where he belonged.

His own personal little hell

Forever in the company of murderers and savages

This was home.

"_What's the matter?"_ asked the Other, breaking Kuroda's thoughts, _"Is it so hard for you to see me with this?"_

The Other raised AnShen, Kuroda's prized weapon. His tool for dealing out death to countless individuals and his lone companion for many years. It did indeed irk Kuroda to see it in the hands of the Other but then again, the Other's hands were his own. So in a way, it irked him to see it in his own hands.

Such irony.

"_Don't you worry about AnShen, I'll put him to good use"_ assured the Other as he stared at the blade appreciatively.

"_With me, he'll never be hungry. I'll gorge him on blood and flesh every hour of the day. I'll feed him so much that this little graveyard you've got here will look minuscule compared to what I'll make."_ The Other ran a finger along the back of the blade, caressing it with delicate care. _"Oh yes, now this is a fine weapon. It belongs in the hands of someone who can use it properly, someone like…me!"_

Kuroda remained silent

"_But, you didn't come here to hear me talk about my brand new sword. You came here to die. Well, I'll be happy to oblige"_, smiled the Other.

Kuroda could feel his opposite's murderous intent. It seeped out of him like an ocean being held back by a dam made of simple twigs and rocks. It could not be held back no matter how hard he tried and soon it would burst out fully and flood out into the open.

"_But this would be no fun if only I'm doing the cutting"_ realized the Other. He reached behind himself and tossed out a simple katana, it spun through the air and sunk itself into the dirt by Kuroda's feet. _"Here, you can have my old one."_

Kuroda stared at the blade blankly, his eyes devoid of even the slightest emotion as he gazed upon the weapon.

"_Go on now, don't worry. It won't bite"_

The Shinigami reached out for the katana's handle and yanked it from the ground.

"_Good! Now, let's get-"_ The Other lost his sentence when Kuroda suddenly tossed his weapon over his shoulder.

"_Hey! Come on! Pick up your damn weapon! Don't think I won't kill just because you're unarmed. The only reason I gave you that old thing in the first place was because I like to work for my meals."_

"Would it really matter if I had the sword or not?" asked Kuroda, "with AnShen, you'd just slice right through it."

The Other contemplated Kuroda's words for a moment then smiled, _"I suppose you're right. But I know you, you've got a plan don't you? Some trick that you're going to use. So, what is it?"_

"Nothing"

"_Pardon?"_

"There is no plan, no trick. Just me and you"

The Other furrowed his eyebrows and lowered AnShen, clearly confused. This wasn't Kuroda accepting death nor was this him defying it. This was something else a sort of in between that couldn't be put into words.

Apathy maybe?

"_Then tell me"_ started the Other, _"what's gonna happen in the next five seconds?"_

Kuroda smirked just a little, "you're gonna put your sword down."

"_And why the hell would I do that?"_

"Because I want you and me to have a nice heart to heart chat."

The Other's eyes became as wide as possible, as though such an idea were the most ludicrous thing in the world. But then, the strangest thing happened. The surprise began to wear off and a smile began to spread across his face.

Talk?

That was a new one.

"_HehehehehHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Talk! Ha! A nice heart to heart chat!"_ laughed the Other, _"Oh, this is rich! Ha! Alright then."_

The Other spun AnShen and sunk it tip first into the ground, then released his grasp on its hilt.

"_I've got to see this,"_ decided the Other,

Two chairs made of pure dull granite suddenly raised themselves from the dirt and offered themselves to the two.

The Other fell into one, crossed his legs, and propped his chin on his knuckles.

"_Come on now, let's talk."_

#

Over Fake Karakura Town

"**Reduced all creation to ash: Ryuujin Jakka!"**

Fire erupted from the Captain Commander as he unsheathed his incredible zanpaktou. The heat was so intense that those who stood near him, both friend and enemy, turned away from the near unbearable heat.

It was like standing inside of a massive fire without being able to move. Such power could only be expected of a man like Yamamoto.

Slowly, the elderly Shinigami raised his flaming sword and set his sights on his target: Aizen, traitor to all of Soul Society.

"Everyone get down!" warned Shunsui

With a single swing of his blade, Yamamoto sent a massive wave of fire rolling towards the enemy. The head of the wave coursed directly for Aizen but moments before it could touch the man, it split itself and continued on passed its target.

Gradually, the flames formed themselves around Aizen into a massive ring. But they continued even further, obscuring both the sky and the town below from their prisoner. When the flames finally stopped moving, every Aizen looked he could only see the inferno created by Ryuujin Jakka.

"Lord Aizen!" cried Tosen upon seeing his beloved leader trapped,

On the inside of his prison, Aizen simply smiled.

Yamamoto sheathed his weapon and in an instant, the air was one again breathable and dulled into a more refreshing temperature.

"**Joukaku Enjou**" announced Yamamot, "not even Aizen will be able to escape from that blazing prison for a while. That will allow us time to deal with the rest of these rabble."

"Wow, the Captain Commander sure is playing rough," whispered Captain Ukitake like a young boy in school,

"He must be in a bad mood," joked Captain Kyoraku,

"Hmm," The most elderly Arrancar observed the massive ball of fire that his leader had just been captured in and correctly deduced that Aizen would not escape.

"It seems we have a bit of a dilemma," he said with a hint of scarcasm, "our leader is indisposed of at the moment and there are numerous enemies standing before us."

"You're being disrespectful of Lord Aizen, Barragan," said a blonde female Arrancar, "you should watch how you speak."

"Just as you should watch how you speak to me Harribel," Barragan shot back then snapped his fingers haughtily.

One of the six Arrancar surrounding him, the largest, pulled out a rolled up rug and laid it out on the solid air. Two others pulled on the rug, unrolling it and revealing a massive black hole in the middle. The hole spewed out a collection of bones that amazingly reorganized themselves into what looked like a throne for Barragan to sit on.

And sit down on it he did.

"Seeing as Lord Aizen is unable to order us at the moment," said Barragan, saying lord with a bit of mockery, "I will be taking over. I will not tolerate any objections."

"How dare you!" growled Tosen, his hand falling to his sword. "Insolent Arrancar, if you will not listen to Lord Aizen's orders then I will-"

"Stop it! Both of you!" ordered a new voice,

Every single Arrancar and traitor shinigami looked up to see the source of it: Tyran the Cero Espada.

"Lord Aizen's orders were for me to take charge if he should become unable to," reminded the purple haired Espada, "remember Barragan, you may fancy yourself a King. But even Kings can die."

Barragan glared at the Cero Espada with barely contained anger, his hands wrapped around the skull ornamentations of his armrest and nearly shattered hem.

"But you know what? You amuse me, so I'll let you do as you please for now. Just don't go around ordering me," decided Tyran, "all of you on the other hand, do as he says. Put on a little play for me."

"What a snobbish bastard," whispered Mila Rose,

"Whatever," muttered Coyote Starkk,

"What do you mean whatever?!" yelled a new voice, the owner of which decided to kick Starkk in the stomach, "don't just let him roll over you! Stand up for yourself!"

"Cut it out Lilynette!"

"'Whatever' my ass!" she growled, continuing her assault,

Barragan sat back down in his chair and ignored the childish antics of the two Arrancar. He was in charge now, that was all he cared about right now.

"You said that the town below us is fake correct?" he asked the Shinigami gathered before him, "you switched the real town with a replica. Aizen said that he could just infiltrate Soul Society and destroy the real one there. But I personally don't see the point of going through so much trouble."

"I have a theory based on what you said earlier. You set up four pillars around the town and used them to facilitate the switch. Now what would happen if we were to destroy those pillars?"

No response

Barragan smiled, having gotten his answer.

"Findor!"

"As you command," said a blonde Arrancar. He raised what looked to be a knife, grafted to his right forearm and brought it to his mouth. Findor then blew on the blade and created a sound not unlike a whistle and like a whistle, the hounds it was meant for came running to find it.

Suddenly, at four different places in the artificial town, massive tears in the sky appeared.

"We already know where the pillars are," announced Barragan, "devices like this are always placed on the cardinal directions. It's the most common setup."

From out of those four tears, massive monsters, hollows, climbed on out. Each one of them immediately found the invisible towers that held the fake town in place and began tearing away at the structure.

Yamamoto simply snorted out of amusement.

"Fool, do you really believe that we would allow such important pieces of our plan to be unprotected?"

Suddenly the hollow attack each of the pillars had their lives swiftly ended, revealing the protectors of each tower.

"We have some of our most powerful Shinigami protecting each tower," grinned Yamamoto

"What the?! Ikkaku?! Yumichika?! Izuru?! Shuhei?! What the heck! Weren't they supposed to stay back in Soul Society and hold down the fort?!" asked the very surprised Lieutenant of the 2nd division, Marechiyo Omaeda, "they weren't at the meeting so I felt like I was better than them! 'Take that you losers!' At least that's what I thought! Why didn't I know about this?! Was everyone else in on it?!"

"Of course," said Shunsui as innocently as possible

Omaeda turned to his fellow lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto.

"Hey, don't put me in the same boat as you," she said, turning away.

Omaeda then turned to his Captain, Soi Fon.

"I already told you about them, you were probably just too busy stuffing your face to hear what I was saying," she said condescendingly,

"That must be it," decided Rangiku, "you're always so busy stuffing your own face. It's no wonder, zoning out when listening is important just so you get the last crumbs of whatever food you're eating.

"B-b-b-but…"

"Hmmm, maybe I actually didn't tell him," Soi Fon whispered to herself.

On the opposite side, Barragan smiled.

"Four guards for four towers. Good, I would have been horribly disappointed if it was as easy as simply sending a few low level hollow to get the job done. But still, if all you have are four ants to protected you're towers then we'll merely send four dragons to crush them."

"Poww! Cuuhlhourne! Avirama! Findor! Deal with them."

"Yes my lord!"

#

Kuroda found himself sitting across from the Other, a cold dreadful wind blowing through the air, caressing his already cold skin.

"_So? How does this work?"_ asked the Other,

"I was hoping you would know," admitted Kuroda, "I'm not quite sure I how it works myself."

"_Heh, that's a laugh. If you don't know how to talk, then why bother even trying?"_

Kuroda shrugged, "can't beat you, can't run from you, and can't hide from you. This is the only other option."

The Other smiled.

"Though, I suppose there is something I would like to know," said Kuroda, "what are you?"

"_Hmph, isn't it obvious?"_

"I want to hear it from your mouth,"

The Other's smile widened, _"I am you."_

"Yes you are, but you are only a piece of a larger puzzle. A shard amongst many," Kuroda shot back, "I guess the real question is, which piece are you?"

"_I am murder, I am blood lust, I am insanity,"_ replied the Other, _"I am what you always wanted to be."_

"A crazed psychopath? You'll have to forgive me if I remain skeptical."

"_Oh yes, it's much better to be the cold calculating assassin like you, isn't it?"_ taunted the Other, Kuroda winced.

The Other leaned forward, eyeing Kuroda like a predator does his prey. Then he spoke in a low voice, _"but I'm not just those things Kuroda. I'm more, I am what you want but know that you can't have. I'm the thing that if you ever possessed, you would become everything that you hate."_

"And what's that?"

The Other's smile was now showing teeth and then he mouthed a word.

Kuroda furrowed his eyebrows and leaned in closer, "what?"

The Other said it again in the most quietest voice possible.

"What?"

"_Freedom! Freedom, Kuroda! Unbridled, unrestrained freedom!"_ roared the Other, bursting up from his chair.

Kuroda remained stoic, "I am free, I chose the way I live and the people I associate with. I have freedom."

"_Do you really?"_ the Other raised an eyebrow, _"how many things that you have are things actually wanted to do?"_

Kuroda had no answer.

"_I am rebellion, the part of you who wants to say 'fuck it all' and simply leave the others to deal with their problems."_

"You're irresponsibility," countered Kuroda,

"_Oh maybe, but perhaps you can't have one without the other."_

"I respectfully disagree,"

#

"They're dead, all of them" whispered one of King Barragan's two remaining Fraccion,

"Idiots," muttered the other,

On his throne, the King of Hueco Mundo felt anger creep into his veins. This time, his throne's ornamentation broke between his fingers. Then he stood to his full imposing height and glared at the Shinigami in his presence.

The two remaining Fraccion immediately fell to their knees.

"King Barragan, you highness!" said the smaller one, "we are incredible sorry, please, sit back down. We will do away with these Shinigami immediately."

Across from them, Soi Fon smiled.

As though an unheard cue was given, both Shinigami and Arrancar suddenly burst into silent action. Their feet moving so quickly that to the untrained eye they were gone within a blink.

At the end of the shuffle, each group Shinigami and Arrancar had paired off against their decided opponents for the battle.

Starkk and Lilynette stood facing Captain Kyoraku and Captain Ukitake

Tia Harribel and her Fraccion stood against Toshiro Hitsugaya and Rangiku Matsumoto

Braggan's Fraccion, Ggio Vega and Nirgge Parduoc, jumped to meet Soi Fon and her Lieutenant.

But then there was a blur of black that jumped in between them, causing both parties to pause for a moment and stare.

The Black Ops squad and entered he battlefield.

#

Kuroda shifted his eyes to the sky and saw fire rain down and scorch the already decaying earth. Strangely enough all the gravestones were left untouched by the fire.

Suddenly the ground shook and the dirt beneath their feet cracked from despair. The two of them however, remained unmoved.

"Looks like someone's moved my body," said Kuroda,

"_I wonder who_"

#

There, standing before the Arrancar were three figures clad in black. Cloaks hiding their forms, an aura of deadliness hanging around each of them.

Even the Shinigami, who were supposedly their allies, took a moment to take notice.

Soi Fon immediately recognized the one standing at the head of the group. A tall blonde man with thin glasses.

"Rajin," she whispered, her boyfriend.

The man turned to look at Soi Fon out of the corner of his vision. There eye's met and he gave her a small smile followed by a charming wink, before turning back to the two Arrancar in front of him.

To his right stood a taller, dark skinned man wearing a plain rice hat and rosary prayer beads around his neck. The Black Ops squad's Kido expert: Teruno.

To his left stood a shorter man, skinny, and with short spikey hair. Though not as intimidating as his two companions, there was a certain preparedness about him. The way he held himself that broadcasted the message: do not mess with me. The Black Ops squad's 6th seat: Keiji.

"Who the hell are you?" growled Ggio.

"Assassins," replied Rajin, "who have come for the head of the King."

"Ha!" laughed Nirgge, "you wish to assassinate the King of Hueco Mundo?! You will have to kill us first!"

Rajin turned to Teruno and gave him a slight nod. The tall man returned the nod and disappeared in a flash of Shunpo.

The two Arrancar tracked the man's movements and saw go towards the only two Shinigami on their side. Turning their attention back to Rajin, they saw he was beginning to walk calmly towards them.

They prepared themselves, confident that they best a single Shinigami.

"Keiji," whispered Rajin, "take care of them."

The shorter Black Ops member suddenly appeared before them, his weapon already drawn.

"What is this? You're sending one man against us?!" asked Ggio, "Ha! How laughable! You would've been better of sending the tall one against us!"

"This shrimp will be crushed beneath our feet!" agreed Nirgge, "why don't you face us yourself, or perhaps you should face us together. Then you'll at least have a small chance of-"

And then, Rajin was no longer there.

It took them both a moment to realize that Rajin had already passed them and was calmly walking towards King Barragan.

"What the-" Ggio's sentence was quickly cut off when Keiji sprang forward.

"**Foresee with Clarity: Yami no Washi"**

Keiji's Kodachi suddenly disappeared into black smoke. That same smoke began to warp itself around Keiji's right hand, forming a golden gauntlet claw.

Ggio, the first to notice the incoming Shinigami, prepared himself.

"**Hemataito no Tsume"** whispered Keiji.

Black and red streaks of reiatsu began to swirl around his gauntlet, clothing it in extra killing power and imbuing his eyes with extensive knowledge on how best to lacerate his coming victim.

Ggio did not expect Keiji to come in so fast and so he was unprepared when the twin claws mounted on Keiji's forehand sliced through his stomach, allowing his intestines to spill out. He was also unprepared for the second strike when Keiji twirled himself around and dragged his claws up the Arrancar's spine.

In a span of two seconds, Keiji had brought Ggio to his knees and dragged him to the brink of death. The Arrancar had long since gone into shock from the pure speed and brutality of what had happened to him.

It was almost pitiful watching Ggio desperately attempt to push his intestines back into his body.

Keiji ended those attempts by sinking both of his blades into the back of Ggio's skull, instantly killing the Arrancar.

"Ggio!" called out Nirgge,

Keiji disappeared, leaving Ggio's body to fall to the fake town's streets below.

"Wha- where'd he go?"

Nirgge suddenly felt cold hands wrap around his head.

"Hey? Aren't you the one who called me a shrimp?" asked Keiji, Nirgge's eyes turned back to see the Shinigami on his back.

"I don't like it…when people make fun of my height!" with surprising strength, Keiji jerked Nirgge's head into an unnatural position. It only took a moment for the large Arrancar's eyes to roll into the back of his head and for his heart to stop beating.

Keiji let his corpse fall down to the town's streets as well.

Without even pausing to appreciate his victory, he quickly joined Teruno in standing before Aizen's lieutenants.

Seeing that his backside was secure, Rajin continued his walk forward and turned his gaze upon the Arrancar sitting on a throne of bones.

It was time to kill a king.

#

"Wow, that was pretty brutal," observed Gin as Keiji joined Teruno in staring down the two traitor Shinigami.

"But I guess that's what is to be expected from your squad, hmm?" smiled the former Captain of the 3rd division, "and now you're after us."

"Do not talk so much Gin," spoke Tosen as he drew his sword, "let us swat these flies and be done with it. The faster we kill all these Shinigami, the quicker we can proceed with Lord Aizen's plan."

"Oh come on Tosen, you're in too much of a rush. Can't ya see what these boys are doing? Their cutting off the head of the snake, goin for the leaders first."

"It matters not," assured Tosen, "the end result will be the same."

"I'll be sure to fight with a handicap for you blind man," smiled Keiji, "I'm sure you'll need it."

"Is that a challenge? Very well 6th Seat, I will be your opponent for this fight,"

"NO! I SHALL!" roared a new voice,

A shadow suddenly fell upon the four combatants as a massive sword came down upon its intended target.

**Bankai! Kokujo Tengen Myo!**

Keiji, Teruno, and Gin managed to jump out of the way. But Tosen was caught by the full force of the giant Samurai's sword and sent crashing down into the buildings below.

"Fight me Kaname!" ordered Sajin Komamura, Captain of the 7th division, "fight me here and now!"

The traitor Captain pulled himself out from the rubble, managing to come out with only superficial wounds.

"Sajin, I see. I should have known you would seek me out on the battlefield. Very well then, Gin, you fight those two. I must attend to my own matters."

"Okay!" Gin called back, then turned to face his two opponents and smiled, "guess I'ts just us three then, hope you're both ready to die."

#

"Hey! That kid," started Shunsui, "would you mind sending her away please?"

Starkk tilted his head to the side, "Why?"

"I don't really like fighting in front of kids," replied Shunsui, "unless you send her away, I can't really fight for real."

"What?!" roared Lilynette indignantly

"Settle down Lilynette," ordered Starkk,

The young Arrancar turned to her older counterpart and was about to chew him out when she spotted the serious glint in Starkk's eyes.

"You can't fight for real if she's around? That's fine," he replied "I don't really want to fight either of you for real. Truth be told I don't really want to fight for real myself."

"Huh? Why?" asked Captain Ukitake,

"I just really don't want to, it doesn't suit my personality I guess you could say," admitted Starkk, "how about we just pretend like we're fighting till the others finish their fight?"

Shunsui actually laughed, "Ha! I'd love to Arrancar but unfortunately, I'm afraid I have an obligation to fight for real today. My sincerest apologies."

Starkk sighed in disappointment, "I see, no way around this then."

The Espada reluctantly drew his sword.

#

Rangiku Matsumoto, Lieutenant of the 10th division stood back to back with her Captain. Gone was the usually ditzy and rather self-serving attitude she usually carried, replaced by one more calculating and alert.

She took stock of the three Arrancar that surrounded her.

All women of varying shapes and dispositions

One was a slender, petite, and proper looking girl with long hair and a long sleeved dress. Another was a towering amazon of a woman with dark skin with clothing that somewhat resembled a two piece bathing suit. The final one had short blue hair and seemed rather tomboyish in her manner, the way she wore a sleeveless vest and baggy pants.

Passed them stood the Espada, a blonde woman the others had referred to as Harribel.

"Captain, I'll handle these three while you take on the Espada," she said

"Are you sure?" asked Captain Hitsugaya,

She nodded, "Yes,"

A moment passed before he said, "Alright, I'll leave them to you then."

Hitsugaya suddenly disappeared in a blur of Shunpo, bypassing the circle of Arrancar.

"Hey! Not so fast you stubby little-"

"Wait Apacci," spoke the blonde Espada as Hitsugaya appeared before her.

The Captain took a moment to size up his opponent and the Espada did the same. Slowly, carefully, she reached up to the sword strapped on her back and pulled it out with a loud resounding ring.

#

Not having moved a single step, the Captain Commander slammed the tip of his cane into solid air.

"Protectors of Soul Society! Give no quarter on this battlefield today! Put your entire being into this fight and crush them here and now! Even if your flesh is torn from your body, use pieces of your bones to form an ironclad wall! Do not let them put even one foot into Soul Society!

With that, the real battle began.

#

"_What else do you want to talk about?"_

Kuroda shrugged, "I'm not sure."

The Other sighed ,"what was that Yoruichi said about you? You never know what to say?"

Kuroda frowned and turned his vision down to his feet. Yoruichi, he hadn't thought about her until now, nor had he thought about her confession.

"She said she loves me," he whispered,

"_You believe her?"_

"She doesn't have any reason to lie to me," said Kuroda, "I don't see why I shouldn't."

"_Interesting and how does that make you feel?"_ the Other was very interested,

"Confused," decided Kuroda, "shocked,"

"_Hmm, makes me horny" _said the Other, _"if I had been in your shoes I would have grabbed her right there and gotten my rocks off."_

Kuroda raised an eyebrow and stared at his opposite distastefully.

"_I have fewer inhibitions Kuroda and let me tell you it makes things so much more fun. But you wouldn't know what that is would you Mr. Stick in the Mud. Maybe I'll pay Yoruichi a visit when I take over,"_ the Other licked his lips hungrily,

Kuroda scowled.

"_Don't act like you've never wanted her,"_ sneered the Other_, "you held your attraction to her at arms length when you were kids. Then when you made me you took it and shoved it into the smallest box and threw it into the darkest hole you could find. Now that you know how she feels you don't know how to _respond, it's pitiful really."

"I don't deserve her"

"_Oh cry me a river. I'm a horrible person, I'm a monster, wahwahwah!" _mocked the Other_ "I swear sometimes you act like a broken record player. Have you seen us man? We are the shit! Girls ought to be lining in front of our door for a chance to get with us!"_

Kuroda sighed, not wanting to encourage the Other's antics. Instead he stared into his own hands and remembered the moment when he had grabbed Yoruichi's hands and held them in his own. They had felt so warm, so soft, so different from his own.

He felt a wanting come with the memory.

A need, to feel that warmth, that softness, again.

Yet another part of him pushed such needs away and told him he didn't need such things.

"_It feels good doesn't it?"_ asked the Other,

"What?"

"_Human contact,"_

Kuroda smiled and stared at his hands again. So wonderful, yet so hard to embrace after so many years of keeping away from it, it hurt. His heart hurt.

"_When I take over, I'll treat her right. I'll give her the love that you wouldn't, that you couldn't."_

"You think you can?" challenged Kuroda,

"_I know I can_" replied the Other without hesitation, _"because with freedom comes confidence."_

"There's a fine line between confidence and stupidity,"

"_Ah, but I am you. I know how to walk that line and stay on the right side."_ The Other suddenly left his chair and began to circle Kuroda like a wild predator. He noticed that everywhere the other stepped, fire followed.

"_I feel like you still haven't realized this fact. So I will tell it to you again. I am you, I am you and so much more. I have your determination, your skills, your mind, and more. I possess the savagery that makes me a better fighter, the love of battle that makes it easier for me to kill, I am simply better."_

"I'm afraid I have to disagree," said Kuroda,

Both of the Other's hands came crashing down on either side of Kuroda's head and their faces were suddenly inches apart.

"_And why is that?"_ asked the Other,

"You lack discipline. Savagery is all well and good, love of battle as well. But it can hinder someone just as much as it can help. Discipline reals it in from doing that harm and that's what I have. Discipline, self-control."

The Other smiled again, _"self-control is overrated"_

"You say that, but do you believe it?"

The smile faded.

"_What are you saying?"_

"I'm saying, I'm better than you at something."

#

Rangiku was seriously starting to rethink her belief that she could take on all three of these Arrancar by herself. After exchanging a few blows with them, then taking advantage of their habit to bicker amongst themselves, she had managed to position them into the perfect opportunity to utilize Haineko.

She had managed to catch them in a vortex of ash and even managed to cut the blue haired one, Apacci, across the arm.

Unfortunately for her, they managed to break out by firing three Cero.

Now she found herself on the defensive and struggling just to keep herself alive.

Already she had taken half a dozen minor wounds and was breathing heavily, the three Arrancar on the other hand were uninjured for the most part and still fresh.

"Here I come!" announced Mila Rose, striking out with her sword.

"Haineko!" called Rangiku, summoning her cloud of ash to envelop the Arrancar. Unfortunately, the Arrancar quickly sliced her way through the ash and resumed her charge towards Rangiku.

"Still trying that old trick?"

Rangiku swung her hilt and the ash responded to her will. It formed a thin wall between her and the Arrancar's blade, temporarily stopping the attack.

"Pardon me" said a voice,

Rangiku whipped around to see Sung-sun thrust at her with a Sai. On pure reflex, Rangiku threw up her bare arm to protect herself while at the same time pushing off her left foot to get away.

The three pronged dagger pierced her flawless skin and she growled with pain.

Suddenly Apacci was behind her, taking advantage of her opening. She attempted to react but was too slow, the blue haired Arrancar landed a powerful kick across her face.

Somehow the Lieutenant managed to land on her feet and stand back up.

All three of the Arrancar looked at her smugly. All of them knew that at this rate, Rangiku would soon be dead.

#

In the Dangai Precipice world

"Come on you giant fur ball! Get your ass moving or we're going to be late!"

"I will move at whichever speed I like,"

"You keep moving that slow and you won't get any meat. Now either get moving or starve."

A low growl, "what is the prey we have today?"

"Fresh meat"

#

By now all three of the Arrancar were looking quite bored. Rangiku just wasn't providing them with a proper fight, Apacci had even begun to clean her ears.

"Ugh, you know what," she started, "I think I'll just go sit down over there."

"Excuse me?" asked Mila Rose

"What are you deaf? You heard me," replied Apacci, "this Shinigami is a total loser. Three on one is hardly a fair fight to begin with. It was funny at first, but now this is just ridiculous."

"Don't be lazy," scolded Sung-sun

"I'm not lazy! I'm just bored," groaned Apacci, "Hey! Shinigami, why don't you just call your Captain back? We won't hold it against you, two against three is more of a match."

Suddenly Rangiku burst forward, the move caught Apacci off guard but even then the Shinigami moved too slow. She caught the Lieutenant by the scarf and roughly tossed her away.

As she flew back, Rangiku summoned her ash cloud to attack Apacci from behind. The Arrancar quickly noticed and almost casually fired a bala, dispersing the cloud.

"Pathetic!" spat Apacci with disgust,

Mila Rose sped after the Shinigami, sword held out in front.

"You better call for help quickly, cause your no match for even one of us!"

Rangiku prepared to summon her cloud once again but from out of nowhere a ball of fire struck Mila Rose in the side.

Both Shinigami and Arrancar were caught by surprise. While Rangiku wasn't one to question good luck, she wondered who had intervened. Her answer came when she felt a presence behind her, she turned around and saw the last person she expected to see back on the battlefield.

"Momo!"

Lieutenant Momo Hinamori of the 5th division, last Rangiku had known Momo had still been confined to the hospital. But here she stood, her Shikai smoking from its latest discharge.

She walked, almost daintily, toward Rangiku. Upon first glance no one would have believed such a sweet innocent looking girl to be a warrior or unstable but Rangiku knew better.

"Momo, are you…alright now?" she asked as carefully as she could,

Momo nodded cutely and replied, "Yes, I'm fine now. Thank you for asking Rangiku."

Upon seeing that Rangiku still looked skeptical, Momo continued.

"I've come to help my fellow Shinigami as the Lieutenant of the 5th division and a person who cares about those she loves. Not as Captain Aizen's subordinate. I now see that he is…my enemy."

"I see," said Rangiku, "that's good."

_Momo_

"Let's do this together!"

_You may have just not noticed it_

"Right!"

_But you called him Captain Aizen_

"Done with your stupid conversation yet?" Mila Rose suddenly came bursting out of the smoke, burned and injured, but still able to swing her sword.

Rangiku was the first to act, calling Haineko's ash cloud to her and blocking the incoming strike. Upon failing to score a blow, Mila Rose retreated. But Momo would not allow her to get away unscathed.

"Tobiume!" she called, swinging her sword and letting loose another ball of fire.

Before it could reach her target a projectile intercepted her own and caused it to explode prematurely.

"So that's what it was," said Apacci, the chakram returning to her wrist, "that explains what hit Mila Rose. Not bad I suppose, but still, having two of you won't make a difference. Come on girls! Let's finish off these bitches and go help Lady Harribel!"

Together, the three of them charged, intent on ending the lives of the two women.

Then they found, they couldn't. Because try as they might, they couldn't get themselves out of what appeared to be a web of metallic wires.

"What the hell?! What is this?" cursed Apacci,

Sung-sun attempted to free herself from the wires but as she did, the wires wrapped around her tighter and began to dig into her skin. Mila Rose acted even more brashly, attempting to free her limbs through brute force.

As a reward both she and Apacci were cut by the wires.

"Damn it you big Gorilla! Stop moving! You're cutting me too!" growled the blue haired Arrancar,

"Well I don't see you trying to get free!" Milar Rose shot back.

"I wouldn't struggle anymore if I were you," said a new voice causing all of the women to pause, "when a fly is caught in a spider's web, its struggling only makes it get tangled even worse. By the time it realizes how hopeless it is, the web will have completely immobilized it. In this case, unless you three would like to live without your limbs for the rest of your lives, I suggest you all stop moving."

The new comer floated down to their level. She was, much to all their surprise save Momo, only a young teenage girl.

"Who the hell are you?" growled Mila Rose,

"Mei Ryou, 3rd Seat of the 8th division," answered Mei, "and daughter of the most dangerous man in all of Soul Society."

"You're just a little brat," realized Sung-sun, "shouldn't you be off in school or some other thing?"

Mei remained as stoic as her father would have in the face of such insults. And like her father instead of repaying insults with insults, she repaid insults with threats.

"I would watch how you talk to a 'little brat' like me," advised Mei, raising her left hand and revealing the numerous wires attached to her fingers, "especially when a little brat like myself can move her pinky…"

Mei did so, the result was immediate with one of the wires suddenly tightening itself around Sung-sun's throat, drawing a thin line of blood.

"…and lop your head off."

The young girl turned her usually cold murderous eyes upon Lieutenant of the 5th.

"Don't do that again Momo, you're only out here because Soul Society is having me watch you. If you continue to run off like that, I'll be forced to restrain you and put you back in prison."

"Yes…o-of course Mei," Momo replied shakily,

Rangiku, who had never seen Mei in battle, was startled by the young girl's new disposition. Where was the cute little one who liked to skip around and act silly all the time?

Mei turned her eyes to Rangiku and smiled sweetly, "Hi Rangiku! Seems you had a rough time out here didn't ya?"

"Uh…y-yes,"

"Don't worry, we'll have this wrapped up real soon."

"Hey!" roared Apacci, "you little brat! Don't dismiss us so quickly!"

"Now Momo!"

"When we get out of here! We're going to rip all three of you limb by limb!" yelled Mila Rose,

"**Snap!" **Momo touched her weapon to one of Mei's wires** "Tobiume!"**

The wires suddenly became alit with fire, an explosion that enveloped all three Arrancar followed.

Mei smiled with grim satisfaction.

"Did we get them?" asked Rangiku hopefully,

Mei's smile suddenly disappeared as she felt something pull on her wires.

"No," she said, "not yet"

"**Thrust: Cierva!" **yelled Apacci,

"**Devour: Leona!" **roared Mila Rose,

"**Strangle: Anaconda!"** hissed Sung-sun,

With the increase in power provided by their Resurrection, the three Arrancar blew away the smoke that had previously obscured them.

Their transformations had changed each of their physical appearances dramatically.

Sung-sun had come to resemble a naga, her body from the stomach down having become a slender anaconda's tail.

Apacci's body had become covered in brown fur and she now sported deer-like anlters above her eyebrows. In addition her feet had been replaced with hooves.

Mila rose had come to resemble an Amazon warrior even more, with twin bone claws holding her breasts, an armored thong and neck collars, a pair of boots that extended up to her thigh, and a long golden mane falling down from her helmet.

They were now even more powerful than before

Yet despite all that, Mei smiled.

#

Kuroda smiled

"You feel that?" he asked the Other,

"_Yeah, I do. It's Mei"_

"Brilliant little girl," said Kuroda appreciatively, "out of all the Shinigami I've trained, she is without a doubt the most talented."

"_Hmm, tell me, what was it like becoming a father without a wife?"_ asked the Other,

"Shouldn't you know?"

"_I only get patches of the picture, once I take over, I'll have all of it. But since we're just talking right now, I want to hear it from you," _explained the Other,

Kuroda took a moment to think, "It was fulfilling. I got to watch her grow. I got to direct her towards her own path."

"_So like having a puppy?"_

Kuroda chuckled, "it's better than having a puppy. Having daughter you actually get to talk, to develop a relationship."

"_Develop a relationship eh? That's the last thing that I thought I'd hear from you,"_

"Well, if there is one thing I kept from my father, it was his parenting skills," Kuroda observed his hand, "you know, for the first month she tried to run away, usually taking a whole bunch of food with her. I caught her each time and dragged her back but I never punished her for it, nor did I ever bring it up."

"_Is that a good way to teach her not to run?"_

"Probably not but in the end you can't argue with the result"

#

Mila Rose lashed out with her large broad sword, intent on cleaving Momo in half. But the Lieutenant of the 5th raised her weapon at the last second and managed to parry the attack, but the force of the blow sent her skidding through the air.

"You're not getting away that easily!" roared the Amazon as she charged,

"**Tobiume!"** Momo swung her sword and let loose a ball of fire that struck the charging Arrancar head on. For a brief moment the Lieutenant thought she might have injured her opponent, but Mila Rose came bursting out of the smoke a second later, completely unharmed.

Caught off guard, Momo was defenseless against the incoming strike.

But just as Mila Rose's sword was about to hit, it came to a stop. Looking up the Arrancar saw the flash of those annoying metal wires holding her sword back.

With a jerk of her hands, Mei yanked the Amazon back and sent her crashing into an incoming Apacci.

"Ah! Damn it Mila Rose! Stop getting in my way you damn cow!"

"What did you call me you?!" growled Mila Rose,

"**Haineko!"** a cloud of ash suddenly enveloped the two.

Then out of nowhere, Sung-sun came slithering around the cloud weaving through the air like a giant snake. She fired a bala from her concealed hand at Rangiku's flank only for it to be intercepted by another one of Momo's fireballs.

The resulting explosion however still knocked Rangiku away, temporarily disorienting her. Disorientation that Sung-sun immediately took advantage of, rushing through the smoke to strike her opponent.

Mei stepped in between them and formed a barrier of wires, able to slice to pieces anyone foolish enough to traverse it. But Sung-sun moved through it with ease and fluidity, weaving her slender body through the wires as though they were as visible as the sun in the sky.

Not one to have her plan foiled, Mei crossed her arms and in turn tightened the web of wires. Sung-sun found herself caught by the wires just a few meters from her target and while her hierro prevented her from being cut, she still was unable to move.

Mei smirked but Sung-sun remained unworried.

Unexpectedly Sung-sun managed to move her arms just enough so that the openings of her sleeves were pointed at the Shinigami. At first Mei was confused, that confusion disappeared when from out of the Arrancar's sleeves a pair of white snakes came slithering out towards them.

"Hado No.31 Shakkaho!" yelled Rangiku

A red ball of energy struck the pair of snakes, allowing Mei to move.

From inside the cloud of ash two beams, one orange and the other red, fired and dispersed the annoying substances.

Apacci was the first one to come charging out, head lowered and moving at full speed. She struck Mei with her horned head in the side, causing the young girl to yell out in pain and free Sung-sun.

"Here I come again you little brat!"

This time however, Mei turned herself to face the Arrancar and held out her hands in front of her. Just as Apacci's horns were about to strike again, a crisscross of wires caught her head like a net, stopping the charge.

Mei then pulled back her right foot and shot it out, striking Apacci right on the nose. The Arrancar recoiled and stumbled back.

"**Tobiume!"**

Momo fired off another ball of fire from her sword, sending it right towards Apacci. But Mila Rose came to her comrade's defense at the last second and struck the ball of fire with her sword, batting it away and making sure it harmed no one.

Mei however took advantage of having all three Arrancar near each other. Throwing her hands around she commanded her wires to ensnare all of them.

"Little brat! Think this can hold us?!" growled Apacci as she and her fellow Arrancar began to struggle against the wires.

It was true, with all three of them Mei knew she could only hold them for so long. However, she didn't need to hold them indefinitely, only for a few seconds.

"Rangiku!" she called,

"**Haineko!"** the Lieutenant of the 10th commanded her cloud of ash to once again encircle the three Arrancars in the form of a tornado. Once done she began to wildly slash the air with her sword hilt.

A few times yelps of pain could be heard from inside the cloud.

"Momo!"

"**Tobiume!"**

The Lieutenant of the 5th began to wildly swing her sword, firing ball of fire after ball of fire into the cloud.

"You bitches!"

Three distinct colors suddenly became visible inside the cloud. A moment later three cero of those same colors burst out of the cloud, dispersing it and loosening Mei's wires.

"Damn it," muttered Apacci, "this is taking too long."

"You getting tired Apacci? Losing you're nerve?"

"Shut it Mila Rose, I just don't like wasting any more time with these three Shinigami!"

"You're both acting so uncivily, if it weren't for you two charging in head on all the time I would have already kill all of them."

"Shut it Sung-sun," growled both of them,

Turning their attention back to the battle, they glared murderously at the three who had caused them so much grief.

"You know what? I say we take them all down in one go," said Apacci,

"For once I agree, if this goes on any longer it could get troublesome," said Mila Rose,

"What do you suggest we do then?" asked Sung-sun,

"If we use 'that', then we can take them all out at once then move on to bigger fish," answered Mila Rose.

"Hmph, to think we're pulling out our best attack to deal with these three small frys," muttered Apacci as she lifted her right hand to her left arm, "puts a bad taste in my mouth."

"Get over it," growled Mila Rose as she did the same,

"Indeed," said Sung-sun as she mimicked the other two.

"Looks like they're about to try something," said Mei, "get ready"

"Right!" the other two Shinigami said, preparing themselves.

"**Quimera Parco!"**

All three of the Arrancar's left arms began to glow a crimson red, then brutally they all ripped of that same arm. The Shinigami were horrified at the self mutilation, what could it possibly achieve?

But then the severed arms began to lose their form, becoming what looked like pure energy. They shot out from their former owner's hands and met together in the sky, fusing together.

Gradually the fused life energy began to grow, but more interestingly it began to pulse. Almost like a heart beat.

"W-what the?" Rangiku said, bewildered by the display.

Inside the still growing fusion of energy, she began to see something inside. Some sort of form that was slowly taking shape. Soon she could hear the sound of bones breaking and resetting, of flesh tearing only to be mended.

It was like something inside was being created by a mad scientist.

Then came the reiatsu, incredibly large amounts of it. So dark and foreboding it made even Mei shiver with fear. Momo was so terrified that Tobiume shook in her hands.

With a final pulse, the orb of energy dissipated, revealing its Chimera creation. It was a creature unlike any all three of them had ever seen before.

It was a tremendous humanoid being with a white deer skull at the center of its large head, a great dark brown mane obscuring its face, reaching down to its waist. On its forearms and the entirety of its legs was a lighter brown fur much like that of a deer's. Then there was the long greenish-white snake tail extending from below the mane, which turned out to be an actual snake.

This thing was a monster.

A monster that the three Arrancar's called…

"Ayon, he'll make short work of them," smiled Apacci,

All three of the Shinigami were stunned silent and immobile by the sight of this horrible beast.

'What is this feel?' Rangiku asked herself, 'It's like I'm peering into a deep bottomless pit.'

Mei somehow managed to move herself, bring her hands up and thereby raising her wires. The lieutenant of the 10th was amazed that this young girl could find the courage to move. But she could see the slight shaking in Mei's form, her trembling lip, her eyes darting around like a scared rabbit. She was just as afraid as the rest of them.

But after tears of living with Kuroda Ryou, the Commander of Seireitei's Black Operations, she knew how to push fear down if only for a little while.

The beast stared at them through its long mane.

Suddenly the legs in its muscles bunched up, its back began rippling.

Mei recognized the signs immediately, it was going to charge.

"Rangiku! Momo! Run!"

Too late, Ayon charged them and before any of them could move, Lieutenant Matsumoto was falling. Standing behind them, Ayon looked curiously at its now bloodied fist.

"Rangiku!" the two remaining Shinigami cried out,

Momo immediately went after her cormade's falling form. Mei turned to the source of it, the beast Ayon. Anger welled up inside of her as she stared upon its back, years of living with Kuroda had taught her what to do with anger as well: unleash it.

Below, Momo finally managed to grab Rangiku.

"Bakudo no.37: Tsuriboshi!"

Immediately a ball of blue energy manifested itself below them and fired out six ropes from the center, attaching themselves to the surrounding buildings. The energy then solidified itself into a flat elastic cushion that caught the two shinigami like a safety net.

"Don't worry Rangiku! I'll heal you right away!" assured Momo as her comrade screamed from the pain. The damage done by the beast was horrifying, everything from below her ribs to her intestines had been badly injured. Multiple lacerations covered her once perfect stomach.

Rangiku gasped for breath, her injuries impairing her lungs from delivering air. Momo realized she had to work fast.

Then a shadow descended down upon her.

She looked up to see Ayon, the beast staring directly at her. Momo felt her stomach fill with dread as she shakily reached for her zanpaktou.

Ayon raised a fist and prepared to strike…itself?

Momo felt a moment of confusion as the monster punched itself in the face, then caught the slight glint of sunlight of a web of wires wrapped around Ayon's arm.

The beast moved its fist away from its face, confused.

"Why you hitting yourself you big dumb animal!" yelled a familiar voice,

"Mei!" realized Momo,

"Concentrate on healing Rangiku Momo! I'll deal with this thing!"

Ayon grabbed the wires encircling its fist and yanked them off, snapping them as though they were but string.

"Come on ugly!" yelled Mei, "come and get me!"

The beast whirled around and began moving towards the small little fly that was taunting it with mean words. Mei swallowed her fear and threw out her hands, sending wires into the buildings around them.

Momo mean while stared in horror as this girl, younger than even her, bravely faced down the beast. A gasp from Rangiku below her, refocused her attention on what needed to be done.

"Stay with me Rangiku, stay with me!"

Mei felt her wires lock themselves firmly into the buildings, Ayon was nearly upon her. With a hard yank, she brought her arms over one another. The surrounding buildings followed, their walls coming off and striking the beast.

It roared with annoyance, when the barrage was over it began smashing its fists into the buildings surrounding it, blaming them for attacking it.

"Ayon you stupid animal!" yelled Apacci, "those buildings aren't the problem! It's the brat in front of you!"

"Give it a rest Apacci," ordered Mila Rose, "Ayon never listens to us anyway."

"So what? We should just let him be stupid?"

"No," said Sung-sun this time, "wish should just let him work, don't worry, Ayon will kill them soon enough."

With her opponent distracted, Mei weaved her wires again, this time faintly wrapping them around Ayon's entire body.

"Hado No.11: Tsuzuri Raiden!"

An current of electricity ran out from her fingertips into her wires, it traveled along them till they reached Ayon. There they entered the monster's body and made it jerk uncontrollably.

Unfortunately in the way of damage, the attack had little effect. Thinking quickly, Mei wrapped her wires around Ayon's legs and gave them a hard jerk.

Still confused and dazed, the monster was swept right off its feet and face planted right into the concrete below.

"Bakudo No.4: Hainawa!"

A golden rope of reishi shot out from Mei's hands and wrapped it around Ayon's body, temporarily immobilizing it though Mei knew it would not be for long.

She then placed her hands together and began to chant, _**"Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of darkness, wait at the far heaven! Hado No.73: Soren Sokatsui!"**_

Mei pushed out her hands, glowing with blue energy. A concentrated blast fired out from her outstretched hands and struck Ayon right in the back, bathing him with blue fire.

When the blue light died away, Mei squinted to try to see through the smoke.

"Did I get him?" she wondered, the wires on her fingers tugged back.

Apparently not.

A second later, Ayon came bursting through the smoke and threw a backhand at Mei. The attack was too fast and Mei had not time to throw up a defense. She was sent flying straight into a building and did not come out.

Not bothering to check, Ayon turned its sights back on Momo.

"Oh no" she whispered, realizing what had happened. She was only half finished with Rangiku and that still wasn't enough to move her at the moment. If she just had a little more time they could escape together.

Ayon lumbered towards the two and Momo prepared to fight.

But in a flash Ayon's fist collided with her small body. It happened so fast that Momo hadn't even gotten to feel how many bones in her body had broken.

In the corner of her vision, she saw a small glint.

Then she was no longer moving. Something soft and small was carrying her.

Painfully she turned her head and to her amazement she saw Mei, bruised and bloodied but still alive.

"Mei," she whispered weakly, "how did you-"

_Flash Back_

_Mei saw Ayon's fist coming in. It was fast, too fast for her to move out of the way. She would have to accept the blow, but doing so would be suicide._

_Thinking quickly, she threw up her arms and whispered, "Bakudo No.8: Seki"_

_An orb of light blue energy formed in front of her. Ayon struck it, causing it to burst and sending Mei crashing into the building._

_Flash Back end_

"Quick thinking," answered Mei, it had saved her life but she could still feel half her ribs break as well as a dislocated right shoulder which she was currently using to support Momo.

Ayon noticed the return of the little figure that had caused it so much harm. For the first time since the battle began, it roared, revealing its massive slobbering maw.

Mei thrust out her still useable left arm and created a barrier of wires between them and the monster. Ayon began jog forward, completely ignoring the wires that only held it back briefly before snapping.

Mei weaved her wires again, creating barrier after barrier that were promptly torn down by the unstoppable juggernaut.

"Damn it!" she cursed as she continued to try and hold Ayon back.

In the end however, it was futile. Ayon towered over them, it raised its fist back and struck at them.

Mei raised one last barrier, using all her wires to create a single small net to catch the fist. She caught Ayon's attack but its till progressed forward regardless with enough speed to do serious damage. Mei closed her eyes and awaited death.

It did not come.

"You stupid little brat," spoke a new yet familiar voice, "if you're dad knew you were out here, he'd put across his knee and spank you till your butt glowed red."

Mei opened her eyes and saw who her savior was.

"Kaito!?"

"In the flesh," smiled the Black Ops squad's 3rd seat, his hand casually holding back Ayon's much larger fist.

"Looks like you got yourself into quite a bit of trouble," observed the man, "guess I should lend you a hand, its what your dad would want."

With a roll of his shoulders, Kaito carelessly shoved back against Ayon's fist and sent the monster tumbling backwards. Kaito suddenly disappeared, then reappeared next to a near unconscious Rangiku.

He quickly picked her up bridal style and disappeared again before Ayon came crashing down on where they had just been.

"Kaito," she whispered weakly.

"Shhhh," spoke Kaito gently, bringing up a hand to lovingly caress her cheek, "I'm here beautiful, you're knight in shining armor has arrived. Itsumi!"

"Here!" the purple haired 5th seat of the Black Ops squad as well as Mei's grandmother and Kuroda's adoptive mother appeared.

Kaito set Rangiku down and Itsumi came rushing over and immediately began doing her work. Mei soon joined them on the roof top and laid Momo down next to her fellow Lieutenant.

"Mei, look at you. You're all beaten up," scolded Itsumi,

"I'm fine grandma," assured Mei though she clearly was not.

"Don't you lie to me young lady, lay down and I'll get started on you right away,"

Rangiku felt someone grab her hand, she opened her eyes to see Kaito smiling down at her. He lowered himself down and planted a rather chaste peck on her lips.

"I'll be right back, I've got to kick somebodies ass," he whispered before standing up, "I'll leave her in your capable hands."

"of course," nodded Itsumi.

With that, Kaito disappeared.

By now Ayon had managed to get back up.

"Jeez, help for these Shinigami just keeps rolling in," complained Apacci,

"Where did that other one go? The one who knocked Ayon down?" asked Mila Rose,

"I think the better question is, how did he knock Ayon down? Doing so is no small feat," said Sung-sun,

"Ah, it was a fluke. Nothing more," assured Apacci, "hey! There he is!"

The other two looked to see where Apacci was pointing. The Shinigami had reappeared right in front of Ayon, a suicidal move.

"Ayon! Finish that guy off and find the rest of them," ordred Mila Rose,

Ayone of course did not understand the command but it understood that the figure in front of it needed to die. With a roar it charged Kaito, both of its hands reaching out to grab the man.

"What a fucking retarded animal," muttered Kaito with contempt, "something like you isn't worthy of seeing my zanpaktou."

Ayon slammed its palms together like a man trying to squash a fly.

The three Arrancar cheered upon seeing it, believing Kaito to be crushed now. That soon faded when they realized the man was not yet dead. In fact, he was still very much alive, uninjured, and holding back both of Ayon's hands with his own.

Ayon seemed to struggle as it tried to crush its target but Kaito easily held it back.

"You hurt my girlfriend buddy, that's not something I like to forgive very easily," growled the 3rd seat. Faster than Ayon could react, Kaito shoved both its hands away and shot forward.

Cocking back his own fist, Kaito slammed it into Ayon's face. The result was a roar of pain, followed with a loss of balance as Ayon began to fall back onto the ground.

Without pausing, Kaito caught the falling monster by the bicep and pulled. Ayon began to scream as the foreign feeling of pain entered its body.

The sickening sound of muscles ripping and bones snapping began to fill the air as Kaito pulled with all his might. With a final tug, Ayon's arm came free of his body and a fountain of blood flooded the streets.

"What the-" Apacci gaped, her fellow Arrancar too stunned for words.

But Kaito wasn't done yet, he raised the severed arm up high. Wielding it like a club be brought it down on top of Ayon's head. Again and again and again he smashed the monster's own limb down upon him with savage efficiency.

Bones were heard cracking

The disgusting sound of flesh smashing against flesh filled the air.

Ayon tried to scream but each time it was interrupted by its own arm. Kaito roared like a wild man, blood splattering across his face. Even when Ayon ceased to move he continued smashing the arm down until it finally gave under the pressure and turned into nothing more than a floppy piece of meat.

Only then did Kaito stop, casually wiping the blood off his face with his sleeve and tossing the arm away carelessly.

Ayon did not move.

Kaito turned around and began to walk away.

Ayon's remaining hand twitched.

Kaito stopped mid step.

"Hmm, you're tougher than I thought."

The grievous wounds that Ayon had received from its beating suddenly began to heal. The monster itself started to stand back up and roar an ear shattering cry of anger.

"Ha! Should've known, you can't keep Ayon down," cheered Mila Rose,

A wave of pressure came down around Ayon as its wounds healed and its muscles began to bunch. Kaito stood undaunted and a bit intrigued. It seemed that the beast had snapped.

He watched with a bit of morbid fascination as the arm he had ripped off began to regrow. It only took a few moments for it to exactly resemble the arm he had taken.

Then Ayon began to grow, get taller, become more heavily muscled. Its new arm in particular seemed to be the subject of growth. It became disproportionately large as muscle was pushed into it until it was nearly as large as Ayon himself.

"Now that just gross," observed Kaito,

The arm dropped from the pure weight of its own muscle, leaving Ayon's knuckles to drag across the street. Its eyes bulged out from the long shaggy mane that covered its head, focused entirely on Kaito.

With surprising speed, Ayon lifted his massive arm and swung hit at Kaito. The blow was wide and far reaching, even after it passed over where Kaito had been floating it continued on and smashed into a building in its trajectory.

"And people call me clumsy," joked Kaito, suddenly appearing on Ayon's shoulder, "were you actually trying to hit me? Or did that building insult you?"

Ayon's eyes turned upon Kaito.

"What?!" gasped Apacci,

"When did he move?" asked Sung-sun,

"Looks like I'll have to get my weapon a little dirty," decided Kaito, unsheathing his katana.

"**Smash their bones: Gaikotsu!"**

The katana was suddenly replaced with a large nightmarish hammer whose handle resembled a human spinal cord and the head of which was large enough to completely smash a full grown man's head.

The head was also decorated with a single skeletal dragon which wrapped itself around rectangular head of steel while terrifying wraiths danced around it.

This was Kaito's zanpaktou, the only zanpaktou in all of Seireitei to be able to command two elements: earth and air.

But for now, Kaito was fine with just using it to smash Ayon in the face. So that's what he did.

The result blow sent Ayon flying down the street, its back digging up all of the pavement, its arms creating massive gashes in the buildings it passed. The blow itself had crushed Ayon's head in, leaving a bloody pulp where it had struck.

Ayon's eyes had rolled to either side of its head.

But Kaito was not done with it.

He raised his hammer and mentally gave it a command. A moment later, massive spikes shot out of the earth and created a line of jagged spears for Ayon to fall onto. The monster unwillingly obliged and was pierced through the back a dozen times by the wrath of the earth.

Three spikes protruded from its chest.

Two jutted out of its engorged arm.

And the largest on had gone right through Ayon's head, splitting it open.

It appeared Ayon had finally died. Then its fingers began to twitch again.

"For fucksake, just stay down you dumb animal. I get bored of having to kill the same thing over and over again," groaned Kaito,

Of course, Ayon did not listen and instead began to bush himself off of the spikes.

"Fine," Kaito drew back his hammer and spoke: **"Kaze Bakudan"**

Air began to swirl around Kaito's hammer. At first it was gentle but quickly began to build up speed, becoming faster and faster until a beach ball sized orb of rushing wind engulfed the hammer's head.

Kaito swung his hammer and the orb of wind shot towards Ayon.

The monster, still attempting to push itself off the spikes could not avoid the ball of wind from traveling into its throat.

A second later, Ayon exploded.

The explosion had no fire, only wind. The sound was more akin to a balloon popping than that of an actual bomb. Now pieces of the monster were all over the place, chunks of meat fell down around Kaito who admired his grizzly work.

"Come back from that you son of a bitch," Kaito turned his back

"RAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed three Arrancar,

"You bastard!" yelled Apacci,

"We'll slice you up!" roared Mila Rose,

"You'll be dead before you hit the ground!" screeched Sung-sun,

Kaito didn't turn around, he only uttered two words, "Entei, sic'em"

A roar, comparable to even Ayon's suddenly split the air. The three Arrancar were caught off guard and halted their attack.

A shadow descended upon them, they looked up to see the open maw of Entei.

He came down so fast that none of them could move. Apacci was the first one Entei grabbed, he came down on her much like his lion heritage came down on its prey. He carried her all the way down to the street where he gazed into her frightened eyes.

"You better taste good!" Entei opened his mouth full of razor sharp teeth and sank them down onto Apacci's throat. She only screamed for a second.

"Apacci!" Mila Rose eyes widened with horror. Suddenly Entei was in front of her, moth still bloody, a shred of meat still hanging from his teeth.

Out came his claws, he raked them across her stomach, leaving large gashes. Shock took Mila Rose, unable to move Entei grabbed her by the shoulders and tore out her throat with his teeth.

Sung-sun, after having witnessed what had happened to her companions. Reacted purely out of fear, she fired a cero at the beast.

Entei caught it with his hand and threw it away. He then dropped Mila Rose's carcass and charged the snake like Arrancar.

She immediately tried to run but Entei was simply too fast. He pounced down on top of her and grabbed the back of her neck with his mouth. He then lifted her up and shook her violently, throwing blood everywhere.

She died soon after.

Kaito hadn't bothered to watch, he didn't need to.

"War is an ugly business," he whispered, "that is a concept, the Black Ops squad fully embraces. That's what you taught us, Kuroda."

**End**

**Hey, look I'm alive and so is this story.**

**I hope it was worth the wait, sorry it didn't come earlier I've been busy with work and college. I'll try to get the next one up earlier.**

**Until then review and favorite this story because it gives me great encouragement.**

**Bye Bye!**

**Kaze Bakudan: Wind Bomb**


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Battle of Karakura part 2

"_Tick, tick, tick, tick,"_

"Stop that,"

"_Tick, tick, tick, tick,"_

"I said 'stop'" growled Kruoda, this time more forcefully.

"_Why?"_

"Because," started Kuroda, "it's annoying and childish, for the sake of our shared reputations, quit it."

"_Yeesh, someone is in a mood"_ mocked the Other, Kuroda's less than pleasant twin.

"I'm trapped in my mind, about to be murdered by a psychotic maniac. My daughter was very nearly killed by soul devouring monsters. While my team tries to fight an incredibly difficult battle against the man who is arguably the most dangerous enemy Soul Society has ever face," Kuroda glared at the Other, "I think I have a right to be 'in a mood'"

"_Oh? But don't you have faith in your Lieutenant? Rajin right? Shouldn't he be able to lead your squad through this difficult time?"_ asked the Other with a knowing smirk on his face,

"Rajin is…a wonderful lieutenant. He has assisted me with a great deal of things and I could never replace him. However, I wonder at times if he can replace me," conceded Kuroda, "I find myself wondering if he can truly one day be the Commander of the Black Ops squad."

#

The two beings stood over Karakura town, their eyes locked in a murderous game. It was a game that had been played many times over centuries of history. The game between the assassin and the king.

The king defiant till death, glared into the assassin's eyes. He dares the assassin to come and take his life. He challenges the assassin to try and dethrone the mighty ruler.

The assassin responds with promises, promises that he will kill the king. He will dethrone the ruler. He will walk away with his target's head, its hair wrapped tightly around his fingers.

The game is over, once one of them decides to make their move.

"Death has come for you, King of Hueco Mundo," spoke Rajin for the first time since the game had begun.

"Death? Hmm," Barragan smirked, "how very interesting assassin, that you would use such a word for one who does not fear such a trivial thing as death."

"I'm glad to hear that mighty king, it will make the transition for you so much easier," Rajin shot back.

"Hmph, impudent worm," muttered the elderly Espada. He then raised up a fist and brought it smashing down on his throne of bones. From out of the wreckage he pulled out a massive double-headed battle axe.

Rajin assumed that the weapon was the Arrancar's zanpaktou. With incredible speed he immediately analyzed it.

Large, cumbersome, made for large sweeping strikes.

Long handle, impractical for close quarters fighting.

Power based, not speed, meant to crush opponents with a single blow.

"I doubt that you will even be able to cause me to move from this spot," taunted the Espada,

Rajin snorted, "challenge accepted,"

The shinigami unsheathed his katana and held up to the sky.

"**Enter: Denko Te!"**

A bright flash came and went, revealing Rajin to be holding his new weapon.

In his hands were a pair of finely crafted Katar. The handles doubled as protection for his hands and were a beautiful gold, the design of each were that of an ornately carved eagle flying through a storm. The blades pointed, sharp, capable of slicing through the air itself.

Both crackled with an ever so subtle charge of electricity, every now and then one could see a small spark crawl across the tip of the blade or around Rajin's hand.

These were Rajin's instruments of death, his tools for killing kings.

It was time they tasted royal blood.

The King of Hueco Mundo took a moment to look over his shoulder as a sudden tower of water smashed through several buildings a mile away.

"Hmm, Harribel," the Espada spat, "she's putting on quite a show, she is eager to show the enemy the pain of her sacrifice."

"Sacrifice?" asked Rajin,

"You're ignorance shows itself Shinigami, yes, sacrifice," answered Barragan, "each Espada signifies an aspect of death. The aspect is the reason for their death as a mortal. It is also the basis behind each Espada's abilities, beliefs, and reason for existing."

"Loneliness, Nihilism, Despair, Destruction, Intoxication, Insanity, Greed, Rage," listed off the Espada, "Harribel's aspect of death is sacrifice. Now-"

The assassin suddenly became a blur, before anyone could blink he was already in front of the King. Barragan was not phased.

He quickly swung his axe down at Rajin, the shinigami flashed stepped out of the way and allowed the blow to follow through.

Off in the distance, a single building was sliced in half. His opponent definitely had destructive power. But from Rajin's current analysis, that was all he had.

Closing the distance, the assassin kicked out with his right foot at the King's face. A split second before his foot could hit the target, Barragan casually tilted his head and allowed the blow to sail passed.

Slightly surprised, Rajin followed up with his right Katar, aiming for the corroded artery just under the ear. The king's mighty axe was suddenly there, stopping the strike form delivering a killing shot.

Barragan retaliated with a wide swing, his axe nearly cutting Rajin in half but failing as the shinigami retreated.

"Interesting," whispered Rajin, replaying everything that had just happened.

He had been moments from landing a blow each time. But at the last moment, it almost felt like his body weighed itself down for just an instant, allowing his opponent time to avoid each strike. This required further testing.

Disappearing in a blur of shunpo, Rajin positioned himself right behind Barragan. His arms crossed, Rajin sliced his weapons out in an X, hoping to decapitate the Espada. But once again the Arrancar's axe came up at the last second and the blades of his Katar screeched along its head.

Down came Barragan's axe again, hoping to cut Rajin right down the middle.

The Shinigami spun out of the way, its sharp edge whipping right past him. Taking the momentum of the spin, he struck out with another kick. This one went straight for Barragan's eyes.

But yet again Rajin was too slow and the King threw his head back just out of reach. The Espada then reached up with one large hand and grabbed Rajin by the ankle. He proceeded to spin the Shinigami around and around before tossing him down at a buildings below.

Rajin went flying but managed to recover mid-fall.

It had happened again, each time he had nearly hit his opponent something slowed down his movements. Had he been a lesser Shinigami he might not have noticed it but his well trained eye had picked up on it the first time. The question was, what kind of power was it?

Control of gravity perhaps? Maybe some sort of force field?

"Confused?" Barragan suddenly asked, "It must plague your insignificant mind greatly because you simply can't understand the nature of my power."

Rajin scowled

"Do you remember what I said? An Espada's aspect of death represent much about themselves: Their beliefs, their reason for existence, and even their powers. Have you guessed what my aspect was?"

"Perhaps you would care to enlighten me oh great one," Rajin replied with sarcasm dripping out of his voice,

Barragan smirked, "Aging, that is my aspect. Aging means time. Time is the greatest and most absolute power of death that slowly consumes all things that exist."

The Espada raised a single hand.

"Watch," he instructed,

Suddenly, the large Arrancar was in front of Rajin. His hand was closing in on the Shinigami's left shoulder. Without hesitation, Rajin shunpo'd out of the way, repositioning himself on a far building.

"Oh? You avoided me?" asked Barragan with a small amount of amusement,

"Time," whispered Rajin, so that was the opponent he faced. He could only guess what might have happened if the Espada had touched his shoulder. More than likely it might have faded away or aged rapidly.

Whatever it was, he wasn't about to let it happen.

"Had I touched you your arm would be dangling about limply right now," taunted Barragan, "but it seems your speed is your greatest power. How very fortunate for you, it will allow you to live for just a few more seconds."

Rajin saw Barragan raise his axe, two buildings away.

Then it was coming down for his head, right in front of him.

"When did he move!?"

Rajin quickly rolled out of the way and jumped at the Espada, aiming to pierce his eyes socket. But the Espada's hand came up, realizing the danger Rajin quickly retreated.

As long as he was within arm's reach, the Arrancar could probably age the very bones inside his body and leave him nothing more than a floppy sack of meat on the ground. He needed to try something else.

Moving too fast for the naked eye and stopping only at planned intervals, Rajin began to put his time in the 2nd division to use. Before long a dozen exact replicas of himself, sustained only by the extreme speed of his movement were created.

"Clones? How amusing," muttered Barragan,

"Amusing?" asked all of the Rajins together, "then I hope that for your sake, you die laughing."

Together, all the clones charged forward. A regular enemy would have felt overwhelmed by the amount of attackers, allowing the real Rajin to deliver a single killing strike.

But Barragan was no regular enemy, he was King of Hueco Mundo.

With a single swing of his axe, he annihilated six of the clones. The others closed in on him.

"How pathetic," the Espada suddenly let loose a burst of reiatsu, blasting the remaining clones out of existence with his sheer presence. "You thought this little trick could throw me off? Such IGNORANCE!"

Quicker than his size could suggest, Barragan whipped around and brought his axe down on the real Rajin. Too close to dodge, Rajin threw up his Katar in an X formation.

Barragan's great axe came struck the two much smaller blades. The force was so great that the Shinigami's defense's barely managed to stop the much larger weapon, by then it was but a centimeter from Rajin's face.

His knees buckled and he was forced to one knee.

"Heh," smiled Barragan arrogantly, "that's right, bow before the King, assassin. You are not the first to try for my head and you will not be the last. Your skull shall adorn my throne like all the others."

"Heh," this time Rajin chuckled.

"Hm? You laugh Shinigami? I wouldn't have expected one of your kind to laugh in the face of destruction, weak as you all are."

"Oh I'm not laughing at my death, I just find your words extremely ironic," explained Rajin, "if you're such a great ruler, the King of Hueco Mundo. Then why are you Aizen's underling?"

Those words struck a nerve with the Arrancar, before long he was pressing down harder on the assassin, his rage multiplying his power.

Even as the axe continued to close in Rajin continued his taunts.

"And I saw the way you had to assert yourself until Tyran said you could be in charge. Are you under him as well?"

"INSOLENT…LITTLE…WORM!" Barragan raised his axe back up and prepared to end the Shinigami before him.

Then, there was pain.

The King of Hueco Mundo felt pain, a sharp stabbing sensation on the base of his neck. He turned his eyes towards the source of the sensation and found the snarling face of a woman.

"Hands off the merchandise!"

A single butterfly shaped stamp appeared on the back of Barragan's neck. Soi Fon, the Captain of the 2nd division, raised back her right hand to deliver the second strike that would ultimately end this fight.

"YOU DARE!" another blast of reiatsu caused both Rajin and Soi Fon to be sent skidding away from the Espada.

"YOU DARE HARM THE KING OF HUECO MUNDO?!" roared Barragan, "UP UNTIL NOW I HAVE TOLERATED YOUR EXISTANCE ASSASSIN, BUT WITH THIS ACT I WILL NO LONGER PLAY WITH YOU! I WILL UTTERLY DESTROY YOU!"

"Uh oh," said Rajin as Soi Fon joined him, "I think we might have pissed him off."

"Doesn't matter, I managed to mark him. All I need is one clean strike and we can finish this," she assured him,

"That might be harder than you think," said Rajin, "you heard everything right?"

"Of course," nodded Soi Fon.

It had been her plan in the beginning actually. Rajin would engage Barragan, goading him into revealing everything he could do while Soi Fon hid and observed. As he did, she watched for openings in the Espada's defenses.

His ability to slow the movement of an incoming object had made it difficult but in the end she had found a crack in his defenses and struck. Ultimately it had been the Espada's ability to control time at will that had been his weakness. His power responded to his command. If he did not command it, time would move on at a regular speed.

Now he was only one sting away from death.

"IT IS TIME FOR ME TO END THIS LITTLE GAME!" roared the Espada, he held his axe out and turned its head towards the ground.

"**Rot: Arrogante!"**

From out of the axe a combination of jet-black and purple flames began to cover and burn away Barragan's flesh. Yet despite the seemingly painful process, the Espada did not scream at all. Instead he remained fixated on the two shinigami before him.

Before long the flames completely consumed him, obscuring the vision of the Shinigami.

But they could feel the terrible power being released. Death was coming for them.

Then something broke out from the flames, a golden crown atop something white. As the flames began to recede, it became clearer that the crown sat upon a pure white skull.

The Espada had been reduced to a bare skeleton, garbed in a great purple cloak with a black tattered fur collar around his neck and the fringes of his sleeves. To Rajin's eyes he looked reminiscent of the old myths describing a lich. A powerful undead brought back to life by means of dark magic.

Considering what he was seeing, he could definitely see the "dark magic" part.

The Espada took a single step in his new form upon the roof top of the building all three of them stood on. Everything around him immediately vanished, rotting away into nothingness at incredible speed.

If he could do that to mere buildings, Rajin could imagine what he could do to people.

"This isn't good," whispered Soi Fon. The Lieutenant of the Black Ops division had to agree, both he and the Captain's style of fighting consisted of getting up close and personal with their opponents. This Arrancar's ability to disintegrate everything around him rendered close quarters combat out of the question.

Rajin's mind immediately went to work calculating possible strategies and outcomes. There had to be some way around that cloud of death.

"Rajin, I have an idea," announced Soi Fon, "it's a long shot but I think it might work."

"At this moment I'm rather open to suggestions," assured Rajin,

"It'll take a moment, I'll need you to distract him for me."

"How long do you need?" asked the Lieutenant as the wave of darkness continued to roll in closer.

"As long as you can give me," she replied quickly. With that said, the small Captain disappeared, leaving Rajin to face the oncoming threat alone.

"Ha!" laughed the Segunda Espada, "your companion abandons you! Such is the way of cowards! It matters not! I will get her later, for now, you shall rot away alone!"

The mist suddenly doubled its advance. Rajin responded immediately by turning his back to it and moving as fast as he could.

The lethal black cloud chased after, keeping the Shinigami on his toes the entire time. Rajin dared stop till he worked out a plan, one moment of rest and he could end up nothing more than a skeleton.

"Yes! Run! RUN! Shinigami! Cower before the King of Hueco Mundo!" roared Barragan with confidence.

"Take this!" a new voice suddenly shouted,

The Segunda Espada's attention was suddenly taken off the fleeing Shinigami as a volley of large chunks of rubble came at him. The cloud of rot that surrounded him made short work of the missiles and the one responsible was quickly found.

Another shinigami, this one fat and ugly. Barragan could practically smell the incompetence on this one.

"One more ant for me to crush? It matters not, whether it was only one or a hundred would make no difference to me."

Lieutenant Omaeda suddenly found himself regretting his brief burst of courage as the dark could of death was now headed in his direction. He did the only sensible thing he could think of at the moment: throw more rocks.

"D-don't think I can be scared so easily!" he said shakily as he used his large flail like weapon to send more rubble flying at his target. Unfortunately, none of them ever came close to hitting their mark, they were all devoured into nothingness. He might as well have simply swung his weapon at empty air.

For Rajin however, Omaeda's blundering had given him exactly what he needed: an example. While others simply saw a failed attack, Rajin saw a successful testing. Seeing the rubble fly into the cloud, Rajin saw what few others would have. He saw that the chunks of buildings and rock did not disappear immediately, instead they traveled for a short period of time before being dissolved. In addition, he saw that the larger the projectile, the longer it lived.

He now had what he needed to fight back.

"Espada!" he yelled, causing Barragan to pause for just a second. "I'm your opponent! Face me!"

"Hmph, so eager to die?" asked Barragan, "fear not assassin, I will crush you in due time. For now I must attend to this worm first."

The Segunda Espada prepared to devour the portly Lieutenant when suddenly there was a flash of light followed by a strange sensation on his left cheek bone: pain.

The King of Hueco Mundo's skull turned to see the assassin, his right katar smoking from having recently fired off a lightning bolt. A smile decorated his smug face.

"you…YOU INSOLENT SLUG!" roared Barragan, turning his full attention onto Rajin.

Rajin pumped his left arm forward, firing off another lightning bolt. A predicted, the cloud of aging dust came to devour the bolt. But instead of simply disintegrating like all other things, it sped right through the substance and struck the King right on the chest.

The impact was enough to cause the Arrancar to stumble backwards. Rajin's smile grew wider as he began to furiously alternate between his two weapons, unleashing a constant stream of lightning.

King Barragan found himself so caught off guard by this new phenomenon of being struck, that the first thirty seconds of the assassin's offensive was entirely successful. It was only when Barragan finally managed to bring his wits about him that he managed to begin to dodge the lightning.

It was just as Rajin had thought, his lightning was the prefect weapon against this foe. Lightning by its very nature existed only for a split second and in that split second it could travel great distance. In this case it moved through the Espada's mist so fast that it was unable to consume the energy fast enough before it hit the intended target.

While the damage left by his attacks was only superficial at best, Rajin now knew he could combat his opponent on equal ground.

"Flies! Worms! Insects! All of you!" roared Barragan, "you think yourself so great Shinigami? You are not! Before me you are nothing but dust in the wind! I will waste no more time on you!"

The** Respira** came at Rajin faster than ever, enveloping twice the space it once had. Rajin immediately began a tactical retreat while at the same time firing arcs of lighting back at his pursuer. But Barragan was now on to Rajin's advantage and made an earnest effort not to endure any further humiliation by being struck.

The Shinigami decided to dive through building's window to buy himself a little more time. The black mist easily came in after him, rotting the structure around him as he ran through.

"Damn it!" he growled as he fired a few blind shots through the mist at the Espada. Seeing no immediate effect he shot out of a window and continued his retreat.

"Come on Little Bee," he whispered as he barely avoided being caught, "hurry up, I can't keep this up much longer."

Faster and faster Rajin ran as he kept just out of reach from Barragan's Respira. He dove into alley ways, took to the skies, and jumped through buildings, but nothing seemed to be able to keep the mist away for very long.

"It is not use ant! This will be finished now!" declared the King of Hueco Mundo,

"Yes," said a familiar voice, "it will be."

Both Shinigami and Arrancar turned to the source and found it. Standing atop one of the many sky scrapers, was the Captain of the 2nd division.

"**Bankai!"**

A flash of bright blue light enveloped the woman and caught the attention of the entire battlefield. One the light subsided and Captain Soi Fon was once again visible, she stood with the ace she'd been carrying in her sleeve.

"**Jakuho Raikoben!"** she announced, displaying what looked like a massive missile attached to her right arm. The weapon golden weapon was huge, taller than she was and clearly weighed a great deal as a well.

Around her waist, the Captain had wrapped an incredibly thick band of cloth which Rajin traced around the entire building at least ten times.

"I was hoping that I wouldn't have to use this," admitted Soi Fon, "my bankai is far too large for me to conceal and hinders my movements too much. Plus, the explosion is so large, its embarrassing for me to call it an assassination. But given the circumstances…"

She raised the missile and placed the Espada in her crosshairs.

"It'll be sufficient to kill you,"

#

For most opponents, both Shinigami and Arrancar, fighting two members of Seireitei's Black Ops division was borderline suicide. For Gin Ichimaru, not so much.

Keiji jabbed furiously at the former Captain of the 3rd with his bladed gauntlet. His quick strikes normally enough to overwhelm most were easily dodged by Gin. The man's had weaved and bobbed around the 6th Seat's strikes.

As soon as he saw a lull in his opponent's attack, Gin retaliated with a thrust. Keiji brought up his gauntlet and blocked the blade, causing it to spark as it passed by his face. Instinct took over, Keiji moved his hand forward and locked Gin's arm with his own. Immediately he shifted his limb upwards, applying pressure on the back of his opponent's elbow.

Pain was immediate and Gin's weapon fell from his fingers.

Seeing a chance, Keiji struck out with a wild haymaker aimed at Gin's face. Unfortunately, his opponent was too smart to be caught off guard so easily.

"**Hado No.31: Shakkaho!"**

Keiji was blown right off his feet and sent tumbling out of a cloud of smoke. He quickly jumped back to his feet and gritted his teeth. Before he could decide what to do next, a blade shot out from the smoke and nearly skewered him.

It retracted itself and struck again, over and over like a snake.

Finding himself a shadow, Keiji retreated into the ground.

"My oh my, where have you run of to now?" asked Gin aloud,

Suddenly a volley of red orbs came raining down on his position. From above, Teruno had put his zanpaktou's unique ability to good use and sent a dozen Hado No. 31's at the traitor. Sadly, he knew it would not be so easy.

A second later and Gin came out of the dust unharmed. The former Captain came swinging at Teruno who blocked with his staff. He then retaliated, striking at Ichimaru with the bladed ring at the top of his staff.

Gin of course dodged, jumping back to avoid the blow.

But the purpose of the attack had never been to actually hit, it had been to maneuver the traitor into position.

"**Sokatsui!"**

Blue fire and lighting burst out of Teruno's staff. At this range it was almost impossible to miss, yet somehow Gin managed to shift the odds into his favor. He spun himself so that the attack just barely missed, scorching his clothing but leaving him unharmed.

But as he dodged one attack, another came from behind. Keiji who'd been hiding for the duration of the brief exchange, leapt up to strike at Gin's unprotected back.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, too predictable," mocked Gin who had his zanpaktou tucked under his arm and pointed right at Keiji. The blade extended and the 6th seat had just enough time to hold out his armored hand and intercept the tip.

He was unharmed but the force of the strike carried Keiji back, sending him skidding through the air.

"Hehehe, how disappointing," Gin said with fake concern, "if this is what two of the best can do against me, I hate to think what will happen once Lord Aizen takes the field."

"**Raikoho!"**

A bright yellow light suddenly came roaring upon Gin. He simply smiled and shook his head, so disappointing.

#

Tyran, who had stayed out of the fight, yawned loudly from above the battlefield. He was disappointed as well. There was nothing down there but small fry, fighting the Captain Commander could've been fun but Aizen had given strict orders that Yamamoto was off limits till everyone else was down.

Tyran didn't really mind, but what he did mind was the fact that Kuroda wasn't around. He wanted another go at that bastard.

"_We don't deserve to rule"_ is what he had said, what utter bullshit. The two of them were the strongest, they had both clawed their way up to the top of the food chain. Of course they deserved to rule, for they had transcended to a point where they needed no one else for protection, did not have to rely on anyone else for support. They were true predators amongst the prey, the top of the food chain.

All others bowed before their might. He would prove it, by gouging out Kuroda's heart. Then he would be the true top, Tyran shared position with no one.

Shaking the useless thoughts from his head, Tyran resumed watching the fight between Starkk, Lilynette, and those two Captains. Starkk had merged himself with the little brat and were now giving the two Captains a run for their money.

Tyran sighed, that battle would be over by now if Starkk had any motivation to win. Sometimes Tyran wondered why they kept those two around, all they ever did was sleep.

Tyran then shifted his eyes to the large column of ice on the other side of town. It was too bad Tia had gone down already, the Tres Espada had been a nice piece of ass. Not that she'd ever let Tyran anywhere near her but still, it was fun to look.

A second later a massive explosion erupted not far away. Tyran recognized that area as the one Barragan had been fighting in. Judging by the signatures Tyran was getting, it would seem that the self-proclaimed King of Hueco Mundo's reign had just come to an end.

Perhaps he could get those Shinigami together and he could fight all of them at once. That would provide a good distraction for at least ten minutes.

That plan however was foiled upon Tyran sensing a new presence.

"Already?" he asked aloud, "jeez, Aizen sure is impatient."

The Cero Espada stood and just above him a massive Garganta opened.

Every single person, Shinigami and Arrancar took notice as a hole was torn in the sky. The beings from Seireitei in particular looked surprised and most likely felt dread, enemy reinforcements were coming.

"More of them?" asked Captain Hitsugaya,

"More of them are coming? We are in a lot of trouble," Captain Kyoraku said plainly,

From out of the darkness, single humanoid figure walked out. A lanky hunchbacked looking fellow with a blank look in his eye and a large purple claymore strapped to his back.

"That is one creepy looking fellow," commented Kyoraku

"Oooooooohwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah," groaned the newly arrived Arrancar.

"Wonderweiss, is it really that time already?" asked Tyran,

"Oowaaaaaaaaaaahooooooooooo," replied the unnumbered Arrancar,

That's when another form began to step out from the portal. This one massive and bestial, it looked like a massive puffed a slug that had managed to grow legs. In the center of its bulbous fat head, a single eye.

"What is that thing?" asked Captain Ukitake, as the last words left his mouth his eyes caught one of the figures in the distance moving.

A second later, blood burst out in front of his face and pain exploded inside of his chest. The white haired and good natured Captain didn't even have time to realize that someone had shoved their fist through his back.

"One down," grinned Tyran,

"Ukitake!" Shunsui moved up behind the Cero Espada and prepared to land two heavy strikes. Then he felt something press against his back.

The Captain of the 8th was consumed in blue light.

"Sorry," said Starkk with a hint of remorse, "but the fact that Wonderweiss has showed up, means that Lord Aizen can't wait any longer."

Both Captains of the Gotei 13 fell from the sky and did not move.

"Two down," counted Tyran,

Wonderweiss sucked in his breath then lout out a horrendously loud and earsplitting screech. Not only did it make nearly every single Shinigami cover their ears, but it caused the pillar of ice Captain Hitsugaya had created to crack and the cloud of smoke marking where Barragan had stood to blow away.

Hitsugaya felt dread build up in his gut as he realized what has happening. His tower of ice shattered and from out of it came the Tres Espada. She looked upon him with eyes of murder and immediately began her attack.

As the smoke billowed away, both Rajin and Soi Fon felt the presence of the one whom they thought defeated.

Without warning, a massive black axe wrapped in golden chains shot out of the smoke. It was fast, almost too fast for either of them. Both of them were saved being sliced in half, but Soi fon from simple bad luck was clipped on her wrist.

Then her skin began to rot away.

To the horror of both the Captain of the 2nd division and her lover, Soi Fon's arm began to disintegrate before their very eyes.

Rajin, seeing the woman he loved about to die, felt his brain scramble for solutions yet none of them seemed to register. He could only look on helplessly.

Soi Fon however, came up with an answer very quickly.

"Rajin!" she said, snapping him out of his trance, "cut it off!"

"What?"

"Do it! Cut off my arm!"

"But I-"

"DO YOU WANT ME TO DIE!"

"I…I…."

Suddenly there was blood.

Soi Fon's arm came loose from her body and fell to the streets below before turning into dust. A second later the Captain felt a needle sink into the side of her neck. She went limp and her savior caught her.

"Itsumi?" asked Rajin, still in shock.

"She'll be fine," assured the woman as she took out some gauze to wrap the stump, "but I'll need to work fast in order to stop the bleeding. The rot had spread too far and I had to cut off more of her arm then I would have liked to."

"I didn't…I didn't,"

"Rajin!"

The Lieutenant shook himself,

"Snap out of it, your enemy is still alive." With that, the 5th seat disappeared, leaving Rajin to stare at the villain responsible for Soi Fon's injury.

#

Wonderweiss let loose another screech this time aimed directly at Aizen's prison of fire. The flames, amazingly, faltered and before long were blown away entirely. Sosuke Aizen, was free to walk the battlefield.

Then the massive one eyed beast opened it's maw and began throw up some sort of black substance. That black substance began to take form and before long, dozens upon dozens of Gillian had taken the field.

Through some sort of invisible order, the tall masked Gillian moved upon the three remaining towers. Those guarding them held them off, but through sheer numbers they would eventually be overwhelmed.

"My, my, my, Soul Society sure has gotten sloppy without us."

Suddenly, Gillian began dying.

Many were cut down at a time.

Eight new figures danced across the battlefield, wreaking absolute havoc upon Hueco Mundo's reinforcements.

A smaller one with pigtails wildly slashed her way through the masses of tall dark hollow, screaming like a berserker the entire way through. When her enemies attempted to surround her, she opened her masked mouth and fired off what could only be an Espada's cero.

Another muscular white-haired individual tore into the ranks of the Gillian with his bare hands. His fists moving so fast that the hollow's faces were reduced to pulp only seconds apart from one another.

The green haired woman with an insect like mask hopped her way into the battle and delivered skull crunching kicks to each target.

An obese man in a green suit simply stood in the thick of the battle and snapped his fingers. But with each snap, translucent red boxes of kido formed around the heads of the Gillian around him. He then calmly clapped his hands together. The boxes turned red and their heads fell off.

The blonde man waved his hands and moved his fingers as though playing a massive piano. Music echoed through his ears. Furiously he pressed the keys of his imaginary instrument. The hollows surrounding him advanced but were soon caught by some invisible force that eventually began to literally strangle them. Before long they were reduced to the size of pin needles.

The last one, with hair comparable to Kenpachi Zaraki, dug his fingers right into the mask of a Gillian. With incredible strength he rolled his shoulders and pulled the thing right in half.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," heard Captain Commander Yamamoto, "you're new boys and girls don't seem to be enough old man. I guess that's what you get for kicking out your previous bunch."

"Hirako Shinji," acknowledged the elderly Shinigami, "why are you here?"

His hand gently drifted to his zanpaktou, while the Vizard smiled, "do you come as enemies?"

"We're not here as your allies," said Shinji, his smile widening. "We're here as Aizen's enemies."

With that said, Shinji turned his back upon the Captain-Commander, "and as friends of Ichigo Kurosaki."

#

Rajin turned as eight new figures surrounded him.

"Captain Hirako," realized Rajin upon seeing the familiar blond man.

"I'm not a Captain anymore Rajin, I'm just here to make sure Aizen dies. We all are," replied Shinji, "Kisuke told us that you'd know best how to place us."

"He did?"

"He did, so…where are we needed?"

"Uh…Captain Hitsugaya seems to need help with that Espada he's fighting. Two of you should go there."

"I'll do it," answered Lisa,

"So will I," said Hiyori.

The two disappeared.

"Captain Kyoraku and Ukitake are down. That Espada is the strongest of the three, we'll need the strongest for him."

"Time to be a hero!" declared Love, "come one Rose!"

"Hey, don't volunteer me," complained the Vizard as he followed after his friend.

"Hachi, we still have a lot of wounded. Can you go find Lieutenant Kira and help him defend the field hospital."

"As you wish" bowed the large Vizard.

"There's still plenty of those Gillian, we need someone to clean them up."

"We'll do it! Right Kensei?"

"Fine," nodded the man,

"That just leaves Aizen," finished Rajin,

Shinji smiled widely, "Oh don't worry, I've got him covered."

That just left himself to deal with Barragan, good. He wanted to do this himself. Just as he was about to jump back into the battle, a hand grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him to stop.

"Just where the hell do you think you're going?"

Rajin turned around to see none other than his friend Kaito holding him back.

"Kaito? Let me go, I have someone I have to kill."

"The creepy skeleton wearing a bathrobe and a crown?"

"…yes,"

"Well, I'm coming with you then," decided the 3rd seat.

"What? No! I'm fully capable of-"

"Rajin, brother, you've always been a great lieutenant. But you've never been a very good leader."

The comment shocked Rajin and cut off whatever he had been about to say.

"That's why you never ascended to Captain when Kuroda left," continued Kaito, "that's why you panicked when Soi Fon asked you to cut her arm off. You've always been a bad decision maker when the heat is on. Especially when it involves those you care about."

Rajin looked down, shame evident on his face.

"Right now, you're compromised buddy. You're not thinking straight, it's my job as the 3rd seat to make sure people from my division don't get themselves killed because of bad judgment. So I'm coming with you whether you want me to or not."

He reached out and patted Rajin on the shoulder, "don't worry, I won't make you do any deciding."

Rajin sighed, he wanted to protest again. But somewhere in his mind, everything Kaito had said registered as the truth. He was no leader, he became lieutenant purely from his skill to operate alone.

Because that's what he was: a lone assassin, unused to having to command others.

"Are you two finished?" boomed the familiar voice of Barragan, King of Hueco Mundo, "I hope the talk you two had will comfort you after you've all become dust."

Rajin turned to face his opponent, much to his surprise the Espada was completely unharmed. But that was impossible, no matter how strong someone might have been there was no way they could walk away from Soi Fon's Bankai unscathed.

"This bastard sure is cocky isn't he?" Kaito commented glibly,

"You don't know the half of it," agreed Rajin,

"Heh," the 3rd seat licked his lips in anticipation. His hammer slid into his palm, "let's smash his skull!"

Kaito stretched out his weapon towards their enemy.

"**Ban-Kai!"**

#

Tyran observed as the two of the eight new combatants tore through the ranks of the remaining Gillian. They seemed fairly strong and their reiatsu was not too dissimilar from a hollow's. Fighting them could be interesting.

The question was however, which one to go after first?

The male was obviously the stronger of the two. Fighting him first would probably give him a nice long battle to pass the time. The female however was wearing a jumpsuit, one that nicely complimented her curves.

Fighting her might be more entertaining. She didn't seem all there up in her head however, not that she really need to be. Still, jumpsuit.

His choice made, Tyran calmly floated down into the battlefield and approached the green haired masked woman.

Right now she was delivering a series of kicks while yelling out, "Mashiro kick! Kick! KICK!"

A bit overly enthusiastic for Tyran and potentially a source of irritation.

One of the tall black hollows moved in front of the Cero Espada, obscuring his view of the target. He scowled "get out of my way."

With a light back handed strike, he sent the Gillian rolling away like a bowling ball right into a cluster of its bretheren.

"Oi! Woman!" he called, gathering the attention of the Vizard known as Mashiro, "you seem pretty good at taking down these small fry. How about trying me on?"

"AH! A super monster has appeared!" she gasped, causing Tyran to raise an eyebrow. "No need to fear, Mashiro the hero is here!"

The woman dug her heels into the air and began letting out a loud humming, as though charging up for something.

"Mashirooooooooooooooo!"

Tyran raised another eyebrow.

"Suuuuuperrrrrrrrrrr!"

The Espada let out a snort upon realizing what was going on.

"Kiiiiiicccckkkkkkkkkkkkk!"

The Vizard pounced forward, both feet extended out and aimed right at the Arrancar's face.

He simply grinned wolfishly.

#

"**Ban-kai!"**

The ground below Kaito exploded up into the air and surrounded him. Rubble, stones, sand, all matter that was once part of the earth, whether as large as a bus or as tiny as a pea, answered Kaito's call.

With the assistance from a might gust of wind, the earth swirled around Kaito, enveloping him in a great tornado of rock.

Gradually but surely, the speed of the wing began to pick up. It became stronger and stronger until all the combatants in Karakura could feel its effect. Those like Lieutenant Kira and Lieutenant Hisagi, were nearly thrown off their towers.

Finally the tornado of earth and rubble began to move so fast, one could have compared it to massive drill instead of a phenomenon of nature.

Then, from out of the layers of wind and earth, a hand reached out.

Not a small, puny, human hand.

But a massive skeletal hand, one made of hardened rock and rubble. So large its fingers easily fit around the roof of a building.

From an artistic point of view, it was an amazing creation. The stone so closely resembled that of the inner structure of a human's hand that one could only wonder on how it could be so precise.

But this was no piece of art

This was a weapon

This was Kaito, 3rd seat of the Black Ops divison

This was his Bankai.

Another hand from the opposite side of the tornado reached out as well, casually push over a few buildings on its way out.

Then finally, from the very center of the tornado, a skull emerged.

A massive human like skull, made entirely from the stone of the earth and the rubble of the town's buildings.

The hands dragged out the remaining skeletal structure, revealing what could only be described as a huge human skeleton.

It towered over the rest of Karakura, its height rivaling that of Captain Komamura's Bankai.

There was but one deviation that it had from a traditional skeleton: it lacked any form of legs.

Instead of a pair of legs, its entire lower half was replaced by the rapid movements of the tornado that had created it. The tornado reached up into the ribcage of the skeleton, acting like some sort of singular tail with which to move around on. And inside the very center of the tornado was Kaito, his lips forming a knowing smile.

"**Bankai: Ishi Kaze Ikari Gaikotsu!**"

Inside the tornado, Kaito flexed his arms, stretching them out. The massive skeleton responded by mimicking him, it was almost a comical thing to see it rub one of its boney shoulders while moving its arm in circles.

"Hmph, am I supposed to be impressed?" the King of Hueco Mundo asked haughtily, "perhaps it is very large. But size matters not when you have the power to shape entire realms to your will. The only difference you have made is that it will take a few seconds longer for you to be consumed."

Barragan reached out with his hand and the black dust obeyed, shooting forward, eager to consume the two Shinigami.

Kaito just smiled.

He reached out with his left hand and so did the skeleton of stone.

He crossed his arm over his chest and so did the skeleton.

The black dust began to close in.

Kaito struck out at the air with a back hand.

The skeleton did the same at a speed that was impossibly fast for something of its size. But instead of hitting the air, the wind followed the hand of rock bone. A huge gust of wind followed its movement, one so powerful that buildings were torn from the ground as though they were nothing more than leaves.

The wave of wind even blew away Barragan's respire. The black miasma like substance that had so recently threatened to devour both Kaito and Rajin, was blown away like common smoke.

"I-Impossible!" roared Barragan in disbelief.

"Is it really?" asked Kaito, his voice amplified by the skeleton, "Your power is but gas that relies on the wind to carry it to its destination. But I control the very wind itself, thus your power is subject to mine."

"My power is subject to yours?! Unforgivable! Unforgivable! To say such a thing is heresy! I will not tolerate it! I simply will not tolerate it! I will crush you both beneath my feat like the insects you are! I will tear your power down one piece of sand at a time! I will show you just how insignificant you are! I will-"

Barragan never got to finish his sentence.

Kaito, who had heard enough of the Arrancar's monologue leaned forward as though to sprint. But instead of sprouting legs, the tornado serving as this form's transportation began to move itself.

It burst the skeletal torso forward faster than any legs ever could. Along the way it ripped a massive trench through the streets of Karakura while at the same time shattering the windows of every building not yet destroyed.

In an instant, the massive skeleton of rock was before Barragan with one gigantic hand raised high. By the time Barragan could figure out how it had gotten to him so quickly, Kaito brought his hand down on top of the Arrancar, like smashing a bug.

The force of the blow leveled every building within half a mile of Kaito's hand.

A few seconds passed of complete stillness.

Then the hand of Kaito's skeleton exploded.

The shinigami raised his now handless left arm to see a familiar black gas clinging to the stony stub. From out of the dust came Barragan, unharmed and wielding his Gran Caida.

"Ha! Is that the best your Bankai can do?" mocked the Arrancar, "I knew you Shinigami were weak, but truly even I had no idea just how pathetic you were. I shall enjoy watching you slowly disintegrate."

By now the miasma had eaten its way up to Kaito's elbow. The shinigami however, remained unworried.

Instead he commanded his arm to simply fall off and so it did. The entire arm of the skeleton fell off from where it connected to the shoulder.

"Removing your own limb in order to survive? Is this something that you shinigami do often?"

Without a word Kaito smiled. Stone and rubble suddenly began to rise from the earth below and gather where Kaito had lost his arm. Gradually, the gathered pieces of rock and cement began to form into a brand new arm.

"Sorry to disappoint you your highness, but your little trick can't seem to keep up with me."

"Hmph, all you have done is buy yourself a few seconds. You still lack the power to harm me, weak as you are."

"Oh I wasn't really trying to hurt you, I just wanted to distract you."

"Distract me? From what?"

Kaito pointed one gigantic boney finger towards the sky behind his opponent, "from that."

"**Bankai!"**

Barragan turned to see Rajin floating high in the air. Surrounding him were a plethora of dark foreboding clouds. They swirled around him, turning around and around until he was completely obscured from sight.

Lightning erupted from the sky, striking the earth beneath and completely obliterating anything unfortunate enough to be hit.

Kaito wisely raised his hands to protect himself from the storm. Not a moment later a lightning bolt trust him in the skull, blowing off nearly a fourth of his head.

"His activation is still as destructive as ever," chuckled Kaito as he called for new material to mend the wound.

Suddenly a massive lightning bolt struck out at Barragan. The Arrancar quickly jumped out of the way, just barely avoiding being burnt to a crisp right then and there.

Instead a giant crater was formed in his place and in that crater, stood Rajin.

Gone were the Katar that he once wielded.

The Lieutenant of the Black Ops division was now clad from hands to shoulders in bright golden armor.

Beautifully decorated gauntlets covered his hands, the vambraces bearing the image of a great bird striking from the heavens, the shoulder pieces carved to look like the open maws of a maned lion.

His entire torso was now bare, allowing a view of the terrible burns that covered his back.

Kaito shivered upon seeing them, "damn things freak me out every time."

"Apologies your majesty, I needed some time to prepare my Bankai for use," said Rajin, "if I don't prepare appropriately, I would be but dust now. However, now that it has been activated, the one who will be rendered to dust will be you."

"Ha! Me? Have you not seen my power? Did you not see that it is I who render all things to dust?"

"I'm sorry, but now that both of us have activated our Bankai, you simply don't stand a chance."

Rajin raised his hand next to his head.

Electricity began to dance around his gauntleted fingers, becoming more and more intense until finally lightning came down from the sky and leapt into the Shinigami's hand.

Instead of destroying the man, the lightning gathered in his palm then formed itself into an eight foot long javelin.

"**Raikou Yari!"**

Like the King of Olympus, Rajin drew back his new weapon and launched it forward. Possessing all the power it had as a lightning bolt, the javelin flew towards Barragan.

Barragan, believing himself in no danger, simply stood still. The spear struck him right in the chest.

The condensed bolt exploded in a brilliant display of blue energy and to the Arrancar's great surprise, he felt pain.

The explosion had sent the Segunda Espada barreling right into several buildings and seared his pale bones.

"RAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! HOW DARE YOU!" he roared, bursting out from the building, "I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER! I WILL MAKE ALL OF YOU-"

"Shut up!" Kaito's swept his hand through the air, slapping an unfocused Barragan right out of the air and into a skyscraper.

Rajin was there immediately, appearing above the building with a great deal of lightning trapped in his fists. Down he came, slamming his right fist into the roof. The building simply collapsed beneath his strike and the contained lightning broke out right through the structure.

The dust suddenly parted and out came Barragan's Gran Caida like a large black missile. Kaito threw himself back, barely dodging the weapon from decapitating him.

Its owner followed soon after, his miasma spreading out.

In came a gust of wind, courtesy of Kaito, blowing it away.

Sensing his vulnerability, Barragan recalled his weapon. Rajin closed in, his left hand still shaking from containing his lightning.

Barragan raised his axe in defense and Rajin struck. His fist connected with the Espada's weapon.

The force alone was enough to send Barragan flying through the air but the energy that was unleashed from Rajin's strike ensured that he did not escape unscathed.

Each strike from Kaito's lightning infused gauntlets was like being continuously hit by the voltage of miniature lightning bolts.

As the Espada flew through the air, Kaito moved himself into position. With perfect timing, he slammed his hands together and sandwiched the Arrancar between them. Again his hand disintegrated and Barragan broke free.

Kaito immediately began rebuilding his hands but at the same time he summoned three boulders the size of houses from the earth. With a simple mental command he sent the boulders at the Espada.

Barragan sliced his way through the first with Gran Caida, the next two he destroyed with respira. He then stuck out his freehand and fired a cero at the massive skeleton.

Kaito raised his own hand and caught the attack, it cracked but did not break. He then counterattacked by picking up a smaller building with his own free hand and tossing it at his opponent.

Barragan once again called upon his respire, consuming the entire thing before it could crush him.

Black clouds gathered above the Espada.

"**Ten no Ikari!"**

A flurry of lightning erupted from the dark clouds like as though they were directing the wrath of heaven itself down upon the arrancar.

Unable to move fast enough or perhaps simply unwilling to run, Barragan was struck with the full power of the lightning storm. However, even then, the King of Hueco Mundo came back for more.

He sliced at Rajin again and again, swinging his large axe with practiced ease.

Rajin charged up his right fist and struck back, meeting the Gran Caida head on. The two combatants recoiled from the impact, leaving both vulnerable for a moment. But Barragan did not need to move to summon his respira which he did.

But Rajin was suddenly surrounded by a miniature tornado, blowing the miasma away along with any danger it possessed. The Shinigami immediately took advantage of the moment to charge up his left fist and landed a solid punch on King Barragan's boney cheek.

The Espada was sent reeling, to follow up Kaito picked up a bank with both hands and dropped it right on top of him.

Unsurprisingly, the Espada still managed to survive.

"Man, this guy just keeps coming back!" laughed Kaito, summoning a dozen more boulders "fine with me, I've got plenty more!"

Rajin however, was less enthusiastic about the situation. They had both jumped to Bankai and were both hammering the Espada with everything they had. But still their opponent stood.

Right now they seemed evenly matched, but it took only one mistake or one unexpected occurrence to tip the scales in either party's favor. Rajin sincerely hope that it would be tipped towards them.

#

Tyran frowning.

He made it as a large as possible in order to make his disappointment as evident as possible. The Vizard, those Shinigami who could use the power of a hollow, he had been told of them by Aizen. Upon hearing of such a being's existence, Tyran found himself incredibly excited.

A warrior that has the power of both hollow and shinigami, truly someone worthy of power. Someone truly worthy of standing above others. Tyran had desperately wanted to meet one in battle. To fight against one to see who was more worthy of ruling.

To see who deserved to sit on the top of the food chain.

But now, he stood in midair above the town known as Karakua.

He had been blessed with the opportunity to fight not just one, but two Vizard. The first one, the green hiared woman with a hollow mask resembling an insect. She had been easy to deal with, her strikes were powerful and her movements graceful if not a bit unpredictable.

But even with all of that she had been nothing more than that, an insect. He had simply backhanded her once and the mask she wore shattered.

She managed to survive but just barely. He would have finished her off if the other one, the man with short hair had intervened.

He had gotten Tyran excited, when he not only hollowfied and activated a Bankai. It had been an interesting ability. As long as the man's knuckle blades were in contact with something, the target would be unendingly assaulted.

A single punch delivering thousands in a single second.

But even then, Tyran had defeated him with ease. He had broken the man's arms, tossed him into a building, and then delivered an uppercut to his chin.

Now he held a handful of the Vizard's purple shirt while the man himself was barely conscious. It was pathetic, someone who was given so much opportunity to ascend yet had made absolutely no use of it.

Tyran simply released his grasp and allowed the man to fall to the ruins below.

A lion did not make a point to extinguish the life of every fly it came across.

Still, Tyran needed a real fight. Someone who was on par with him. Someone who had ascended to the same level as he had. Someone who had crawled through rivers of blood and climbed over mountains of corpses in order to stand above all others.

Someone like, Kuroda.

But the man was not here. Why wasn't he here?

What the man had once said still rung in the Cero Espada's ears.

"We don't deserve to rule. "

Of course the deserved to rule. After all that they had been through, why didn't they? They were the ones who had sacrificed everything to achieve what they had. They were the ones who understood that the world was nothing more than giant buffet table. Those who were weak were served as dinner and those who were strong ate.

Kuroda and him, they were the strong ones. They were the ones who devoured others.

They were like wolf among sheep, sharks swimming around fish, falcons preparing to swoop down on upon sparrows, predators hunting prey.

And as predators, it was only natural to come together and find out who was above whom.

But he was not here and the mystery remained.

A flash of intense light caught the Espada's eye and snapped him out of his thoughts. In the distance he saw lightning crashing down unnaturally upon the ground and all of it in a single spot.

Barragan was fighting two shinigami and by the looks of things they were giving him a run for his money.

Both of them were wearing cloaks, one similar to Kuroda's, they must have been from his division.

Tyran smiled

Of course, a king sent his men into battle before taking the field himself.

But kill members of the pack and the alpha will come out to play.

Tyran stretched out a single finger and began to charge a cero.

"My Lord?" spoke the familiar voice of Yang, "is it really necessary to interfere in Barragan's fight?"

"Perhaps if we're lucky, they will kill him for us," joked Ying

"How many bodies does it take to send a message girls?"

"My lord?" both girls asked,

"How many?" he repeated.

"…"

"One!"

#

Kaito launched another volley of rocks at his opponent. As usual Barragan disintegrated them before any harm could be done.

But they were just a diversion.

Kaito opened up his mouth and blew.

The Skeleton that served as his armor did similarly, except of simply blowing out a string of air and massive twister erupted from in between its teeth.

The miasma was blown away, leaving the Espada vulnerable.

In came Rajin, closing the distance between him and Barragan in a fraction of a second, both of his gauntleted fists brimming with energy.

Barragan raised his axe in defense.

Rajin struck with his left fist and was denied a hit by a well-timed block. He immediately followed with an upper cut aimed at Barragan's boney chin using his right fist. But the King quickly drew back, making Rajin miss.

However, the lieutenant was now in perfect position to bring his elbow right down on the Espada's white dome. The Arrancar recoiled in pain, his skull now sporting a new crack in its structure.

"Impudent!" he yelled, swinging his Gran Caida, only for Rajin to jump away "You dare touch the King of Hueco Mundo!"

"We've been doing a lot more than touching you bald little head," Kaito shot back, "I suggest you live with it before we smash the rest of you!"

"**Ishi Mori!"**

Kaito stuck both of his hands into the earth beneath the town. A moment later, great geysers of dirt shot up around Barragan, forming a circle. When the dust cleared, it revealed ten giant poles made of granite.

Then from the poles giant spikes shot forth, like branches on a tree. These stone branches moved like snakes, slithering through the air to impale their target. Barragan simply moved aside believing the branches to have no mind.

But more branches split off from those that had missed their target, forcing the Espada to continue to move. But time and time again more branches came from those that missed.

Soon the ten poles had created what could only be described as a forest of stone. The previous branches hindered the targets movement while the new ones continued to pursue it. Soon the Arrancar would have nowhere else to go.

But Barragan simply called upon his respire and the entire forest simply faded away. He escaped the forest, only to see Rajin holding a lightning bolt.

He threw the bolt with unparalleled accuracy.

It struck Barragan right in the chest and sent him smoking into the streets below, angrier and more indignant than ever.

"Time to die!" announced Kaito as he positioned himself above the King, both hands above his head to deliver a twin hammer blow.

"Kaito look out!"

A purple streak suddenly blasted its way through the spine of Kaito's skeleton and exited right out the ribcage.

At first, nothing. Only silence.

Then the right arm of Kaito's skeleton suddenly deattached itself from shoulder, crumbling away as it fell on top of a building.

Next came the left arm along with the entire left side of the ribcage, followed soon after by the skull and the rest of the skeleton, and finally the tornado dissipating into simple wind.

Kaito fell from the sky, a hole the size of a dinner plate in his chest.

"Son…of a…bitch," he managed to mutter as he saw the sky grow farther away.

"Kaito!" Rajin yelled as he made his way toward his friend. He arrived just in time to prevent the 3rd seat from landing on the ground.

"Kaito, stay still, everything is going to be alright. Itsumi! Itsumi!" he yelled,

The 5th seat and medic of the squad appeared, "I'm here!"

"Is there a giant fucking hole in my chest?" growled Kaito, coughing up some blood at the same time.

Itsumi kneeled down by Kaito and immediately began working on covering up the wound.

"There is isn't there? Crap!"

"Don't talk Kaito," ordered Itsumi, pulling out a needle containg some sort of liquid, "you'll only make it worse. "

"Worse?! How could it be worse?! There's a giant fucking hole in my chest!" he cried,

"How did this happen?" asked Itsumi as she injected the contents of the needle into Kaito's bloodstream.

"I…I…I"

"Rajin!"

"I don't know! It happened so fast! I've never seen anything like it!"

"Where's that bastard Barragan?" asked Kaito, "where is he?!"

Rajin's eyes widened in realization that Barragan was not yet defeated and with Kaito out of the fight, Rajin wasn't sure they could win this fight anymore.

"We need to get him out of here. Itsumi, you carry him! I'll cover you on the way to-"

A hand suddenly grabbed the Lieutenant by the collar, "Damn it man! Get your shit together! That Arrancar needs to die and you know it! I'm not getting a hole shot through my chest, just so we can run away like pussies! Get back out there and finish that pretentious bastard! You hear me! Go finish him off!"

"But…but we were barely holding him off with the both of us, it would be foolish for me to do it on my own. I'm not strong enough, I-"

"The hell you aren't! You're the god damn lieutenant! THE GOD DAMN LIEUTENANT! GO OUT THERE AND KICK HIS ASS! USE THE FULL POWER OF YOUR BANKAI!"

"You know that I can't-"

"Can't what? Handle it? That guy cut off your woman's arm and got a hole shot through me! Isn't that enough reason!? Isn't that-" Kaito's words were lost as he suddenly began a furious coughing fit.

"I need to get him back to the field hospital," said Itsumi, slinging the man over her shoulder, "you do what you need to do."

With that said she disappeared, leaving Rajin all alone on the roof.

The Segunda Espada chose that moment to float up, "Only one of you now? A shame, I wanted to finish the other one off as well."

Rajin's fingers curled into a fist.

"What's the matter shinigami? Giving up? No one will blame you, I would even applaud you for it. Something to comfort you before I end your life."

Rajin turned around, eyes glued to the roof beneath him.

"Tell me, King of Hueco Mundo."

"Hm?"

"Have you ever felt insignificant?"

"Ha! Me, I am the Great King of Hueco Mundo! I am the Divine Entity of all Hollows! I am Ruler of the Dunes! The greatest of fear of all Shinigami! How could I ever feel insignificant?"

The Lieutenant took a deep breath and slowly let it out, as he did small worms of energy began to inch their way along his body. Some of them danced along the burns on his back.

The burns, he thought. A reminder of why he rarely ever entered Bankai. A reason why he had only ever used its full power once.

Above, the dark clouds once again gathered. But now they were black as the night and rumbled like a massive beast.

"Very well then, Great King of Hueco Mundo, Divine Entity of all Hollows, Ruler of the Dunes, Greatest Fear of All Shinigami. Before this day is over, before I kill you, before I **burn** you. You. Will. Feel. Insignificant."

"**Inazuma Senko!"**

One massive bolt of lightning came down from the gathered clouds and engulfed Rajin. It was so bright and intense that even those observing from afar had to turn their gaze for fear of being blinded.

Barragan with his eyeless sockets continued to stare defiantly.

The lightning disappeared and so had the shinigami.

At first Barragan was confused, had the shinigami been vaporized by his own power?

Then there was a flash, so brilliant and bright that even Barragan was blinded. Then there was pain, great pain. Barragan looked down to see that pieces of his black robe had been torn away along with pieces of his skeletal structure.

Then there was another flash and another and another, each time he was blinded and each time pain lanced through his body.

"How does it feel King of Hueco Mundo?" asked the Shinigami, "how does it feel to be unable to control your own fate."

Barragan recovered himself from the sudden attack to see Rajin standing before him, his eyes oozing murderous intent and glowing a light blue, his body radiating with energy and seeming to phase in and out of reality.

Angered, Barragan swung his axe, fully intending to cut the worm in half. But then there was a flash and all he hit was air.

"Confused?" asked Rajin, "many are when faced with this ability. This is the greatest power of my bankai. This is **Inazuma Senko**: a flash of lightning. With this ability, I become the power that I wield."

Ignoring everything the Shinigami said, Barragan let loose his respira. Another flash and Rajin disappeared.

But to a trained eye, one could see that Rajin did not disappear so much as dissolve. Dissolve into lightning and move through the miasma towards the Arrancar. He then reformed into himself again, for but an instant. In that instant however he struck Barragan right across the face with a fist brimming with the power of a lightning bolt.

Again Barragan was confused, what power was this.

But before he could even try to figure it out, Rajin formed back into lightning, traveled next to Barragan and struck him again.

Each time was like a strike of lightning.

The Arrancar simply could not keep up.

"There is a drawback however," said Rajin after his latest assault, "this power only lasts for 3 minutes. It has been 30 seconds."

Rajin landed another dozen lightning charged blows upon Barragan before reforming.

"I will end your life in 2 minutes and 25 seconds."

Disappearing again, but time Rajin traveled into the clouds. He called to all the energy stored up in the heavens. Lightning surrounded him, turning him into a beacon among the dark clouds.

A second later Rajin came crashing down upon his opponent. Barragan was struck harder than he had ever been before. The King of Hueco Mundo felt so much pain that he could barely even move out of the crater he'd just been put in.

Again Rajin ascended to the clouds to gather his power.

Again he descended and brought unleashed all of it in a single strike upon the Espada.

Try as Barragan might, he could not escape from the human lightning bolt he was fighting.

Fear, that's what Barragan was now feeling.

The fear of being unable to fight back. The fear of not knowing which way his death would be coming.

But Rajin would have the great king know where his death was coming from.

1 minute left

This time when he descended he did not do so directly upon the Arrancar. Instead he came down a full block away, allowing Barragan to see the shinigami cloaked in bright light.

With blinding speed Rajin burst forward and extended his fists out in front of him. Barragan let loose his respire in a vain attempt to protect himself. But the shinigami moved so fast that he moved right through the miasma before it could even touch him.

Both fists connected to Barragan's chest like a twin pronged torpedo.

The Arrancar was blown back while in great pain, tearing up the street and leveling buildings as he went.

Rajin returned to the sky but did not go above the clouds. Instead he reached his left hand to the sky and aimed his right hand at Barragan. Lighting struck the man's raised palm and traveled through Rajin's body. It then shot out from the hand aimed at Barragan.

Just as the Arrancar managed to get to his feet, a stream of lighting struck him back down. The pain was immense and it never seemed to end. The constant stream continued to burn through every nerve that Barragan's body contained.

30 seconds left

Rajin ceased calling upon the lighting and traveled over to see if Barragan had died yet.

But no, instead the Arrancar was amazingly still attempting to rise.

"I….am…the….King of Hueco Mundo! I will not…be beaten…by a worm…LIKE….YOU!"

Rajin raised both hands to the air, held them up for a single precious second, and then ripped them both down.

Lightning, erupted from the sky. But it was not a single bolt, nor was it like any storm. A storm would be a gross understatement. This was a deluge of lightning, as though the god of lightning himself had decided to focus all of his power upon a single patch of land.

Every single building in the vicinity was disintegrated, the ground was vaporized, and the air was burned. The entirety of the fake town was illuminated and for a full 30 seconds, every combatant stared in awe.

But time was soon up.

The lighting ceased.

The clouds scattered.

Rajin's zanpaktou returned to its original form.

Exhaustion hit Rajin like a truck. But despite that, he found the energy to move into the absolutely massive crater that he had created.

Somehow he managed to make it to the center and found what remained of his enemy.

Barragan had been reduced to nothing more than his head, a quarter of the upper right half of his torso, and his right arm.

The crown that had once adorned his head had been melted and the Gran Caida which had once been so intimidating now only had one of its blades.

"Such…power…how? How can this be? How can a lowly shinigami like you wield such power? How could you have beaten me?" asked the Arrancar weakly, "what…what are you?"

Rajin did not respond, instead he simply watched on as Barragan slowly fell to pieces and was carried away by the wind.

"I am Rajin," he whispered finally, "the best friend of that idiot who was helping me fight."

With that, the Lieutenant of the Black Ops division collapsed upon the ground and closed his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

**Wow, that took forever to write out. I'm so sorry, but college has been killing me!**

**Anyway, I hope you like it. Please review and favorite, seeing that people still read this story puts a little happiness into my otherwise dreary life.**

**By the way, I noticed that one of the people who favorited my story was called Confused Eggplant. Just wanted to say, that's an awesome name.**

**Bye Bye!**


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Clash of Titans

Fake Karakura

The Cero Espada, Tyran, smiled to himself as he felt the last bits of Barragan's life force fade away.

"Finally," he muttered to himself.

Barragan was an ant, always had been, and Tyran couldn't be happier that he'd finally been squashed. All that arrogance had always been nauseating, if Aizen hadn't forbidden unnecessary death then Tyran would've killed the self-appointed God of Hueco Mundo years ago.

God, such a pretentious title.

Barragan had been born with an unnaturally powerful ability and because of that he had proclaimed himself a God. When in reality that ability meant nothing to someone who could simply destroy the Segunda with a flick of his wrist.

Tyran stepped on ants like Barragan.

But he didn't want to step on ants anymore, he wanted to fight lions.

He wanted to fight Kuroda.

"Kuroda!" he called out at the top of his lungs. Perhaps if the man would not take to the battlefield on his own volition, then Tyran could coax him out.

"You're a coward Kuroda Ryou! You're a weakling! Did I truly break you that last time we fought? What kind of a man are you? You won't even take to the battlefield when all your men are down! I name you coward! Weakling! Unfit for the title that you have been given!"

"I will kill every, single, one of the shinigami here! I will destroy all your friends! Then, I will take your daughter and make sure she suffers true pain! Do you hear me Kuroda?! DO YOU!?"

And just like that, the entire town became blanketed with the unseen power of a new presence.

"This reiatsu…" Tyran's smile widened like never before, "it's him!"

Love and Rose who had come into battle with the Espada Starkk paused in their fight as the wave of power washed over them.

Komamura who had engaged his long time friend Kaname Tosen stopped his assault as well.

Even Aizen and Yamamoto, the Generals of the battlefield, took a moment to regard the new piece that had been placed onto the board.

#

"It's over."

The Other grunted in agreement, "they sure put up a helluva fight didn't they? But what else would you expect from those two?"

"It would have turned out even better, if **he** hadn't interfered," said Kuroda.

"You mean that purple haired faggot? Yeah, he blindsided Kaito, but that's war for you. No one does things cleanly anymore."

"Something we've embraced."

The Other smiled wolfishly, "it's part of our charm. You'll get used to it when I take over."

Kuroda scowled, for a moment he'd almost forgotten that he was supposed to be bargaining for his own continued existence.

"Yoruichi loves us," he said suddenly.

"Yeah, we've been over this," the Other pointed out.

"I know. Judging by the way you responded, I guess I love her too," decided Kuroda.

"We love her more than life itself, we love her so much it hurts just to be away from her. But you gave all that up. You shoved it away and locked it in the same hole you buried me in," the Other glared hatefully at Kuroda. "Do you know what that's like? To not be able to move? To be chained down like some rabid dog? To have the one thing you care about more than anything else right in front of your eyes and not be able to do anything about it?"

Kuroda shook his head, "no."

"I do, that's the hell that I've had to deal with every single day since you put on those damn limiters. The pain was bad, but that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was seeing you control our actions and have none of those actions feel like they were something you would do."

Kuroda turned his eyes to the desolate soil beneath their feet.

"Maybe I'm a psycho, maybe I'm a bloodthirsty freak, but at least I know how to take care of the ones I love. I won't push her away like you did."

The Other looked upon Kuroda and he saw the conflict. The emotional turmoil that the man was feeling as every word struck him. The Other felt it as well through the link.

Kuroda had staked his life on a battle of words and right now he was losing. His will to continue to be in control was failing him. After all, the Other's words had been nothing but truthful. How had he treated Yoruichi? How had he treated the ones that he cared about?

He kept them all away and made them worry constantly.

"But," began the Other, "the truth is, I'm not sure that they would love me back."

Kuroda furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Yeah, I know right? Who would want to push me away?" the Other said sarcastically, "but I think it is true. If I took over, they would reject me. The thing is Kuroda, for all that you've done, all the brooding, all the coldness, all the insensitivity, people love you. They care for you and they try to help you. If I took over, what do you think would happen?"

Kuroda said nothing, instead opting to allow the question to hang in the air.

"Yeah, I don't know either. All I know is, they all care for you."

Silence hung in the air.

"So," said Kuroda, "where does that leave us?"

The Other smirked, not a smug smirk like Kuroda had come to expect from him, but one of reluctant acceptance.

"I don't know. Breaking out seemed to be such a good idea, now I'm not so sure if I want to. Maybe it's for the best that I stay locked up in our mind."

This was it, the moment that Kuroda had been pushing for. The tables of this verbal battle were now in his favor. If he wanted, he could send his Other back into the prison he had constructed for it so many years ago.

But he did not.

"You know, Yoruichi loves us. All of us, even you," said Kuroda.

"No," countered the Other, "she loves you, not me. You're tall dark and handsome and I'm a psycho."

"That's where your wrong," Kuroda shot back, "Yoruichi does love us, both of us. She's loved us since we were children. She's loved us even when we were in exile. She's loved us all the way till now. The only thing that she doesn't love, is how I have rejected part of myself. How I have rejected you."

Kuroda held up his hand and began to conjure the image of a very specific item. Moments later, that same item materialized into his hand. It was the picture that he'd kept on his fridge every single day since his exile.

The picture of himself, Kisuke, and Yoruichi as children.

His only window into a much happier time.

Kuroda held it out to the Other. The Other for his part seemed reluctant at first, staring at the picture as though it were a venomous snake. Eventually though, he took it and looked upon it.

"I'm sorry," began Kuroda, "I'm sorry for locking you away. I'm sorry for not accepting you. I'm sorry for making you live through hell."

The Other let out a sad chuckle, "well, given the way that I acted I really shouldn't have expected any less."

"So, where does that leave us?"

The Other shook his head as though he couldn't believe the next couple of words that were about to come out of his mouth.

"It might be nice, to think about something else besides killing. To see Yoruichi again, to touch her with my own hands."

Kuroda stood up from his granite chair and held out his hand.

The Other stared at it for a few moments and Kuroda feared that he would not accept. But then he smiled and reached up with his own hand.

It was strange to feel his own hand shake his hand. But at the same time it was comforting, like a piece of himself had finally come back. Actually, that's exactly what it was.

Kuroda let out a small chuckle of joy.

"Welcome back"

#

Kisuke had found his best friend unconscious and leaking vast amounts of reiatsu on the kitchen floor. Knowing what was happening, the shopkeeper wisely grabbed his friend and hid him down in his secret underground training area.

Yoruichi herself had come along soon after, sensing Kuroda's uncontrolled reiatsu.

No words were exchanged between the two. They just simply sat down and watched their friend fight a battle that they could not assist him with.

Yoruichi in particular seemed to be having a hard time accepting that there was nothing that she could do. Kisuke deduced that something must have happened between her and Kuroda, something that was shocking enough for Kuroda to let his guard down and slip into his inner world without preparation.

The shopkeeper didn't ask, knowing full well that it was not within his rights to do so.

Still, perhaps he should say something. Yoruichi seemed incredibly tense, pacing back and forth, drumming her fingers on her crossed arms, and constantly clenching her teeth.

"Don't worry," he tried, "I'm sure he's fine."

Yoruichi paused briefly in her pacing but didn't say anything in return. She just continued walking back and forth.

Kisuke, hating to see her like this, was just about to try saying something else when Kuroda's unconscious form let out a sudden burst of red reiatsu.

The pulse knocked both himself and Yoruichi onto their backs.

"Gah! What the-" Kisuke's words died in his mouth as his eyes fell upon the red haze surrounding his friend.

"What's going on?" asked Yoruichi, "what's happening?"

"It's happening," whispered Kisuke.

"What?"

"One of them is winning! One of them is taking over!"

"Which one? Is it Kuroda?" Yoruichi asked desperately.

"I…I'm not sure," replied Kisuke, feeling just as desperate. If Kuroda, their Kuroda, won then they most likely had nothing to fear. But if the Other won…then Aizen wouldn't be the only problem in the world anymore.

The red mist began to grow thicker and thicker, slowly evolving into a full on fog that entirely obscured the whole underground arena.

It soon became so thick and dense that it soon became hard for both of them to breathe.

"Come on Kuroda! Come on!" Kisuke whispered harshly, "win damn it!"

As soon as he finished those words, the fog began to recede. As his vision became clearer, Kisuke saw that all of the red fog was being sucked back into Kuroda's body. In an almost anticlimactic manner, the arena was returned to the same state it had been before Kuroda arrived.

Then it happened.

Kuroda moved.

Both Kisuke and Yoruichi sucked their breath deeply, waiting for what would happen next.

Kuoda opened his eyes, sat up, and pressed a hand to his forehead.

"Shit, this must be what a hangover feels like," he muttered.

The wind suddenly whipped passed his face and something grabbed him by the collar.

Kuroda furrowed his brow and turned his eyes up. Yoruichi was the one who'd grabbed him by the collar, her eyes were laced with murderous intent and she already had a fist dangerously cocked back to deliver a deadly blow.

"Hey," Kuroda said casually, "you can put that down, it's me."

"I don't think so," Yoruichi shot back.

"Oh? You mad at me for something?"

"Yeah, for killing my friend!" she spat.

"Who would that be? Most of your friends are my friends and I'm pretty sure I haven't killed any of them."

"Kuroda! You killed Kuroda!" she screeched,

Realization flashed through his eye's, "Oh…Oh! Okay, I see. But wait, how do you know I'm not Kuroda?"

"I knew it from the first few words you spoke, Kuroda doesn't speak that way. Not anymore at least."

Kuroda smiled and even began to chuckle a bit.

Having had enough of what she believed to be nothing more than a shell of the man she loved, Yoruichi decided to end it all. She thrust her fist forward, fully intending to crack open it's skull.

In a flash, Kuroda's hand came up and caught the incoming fist.

Yoruichi tried to break free but the man's grip was like iron. Thinking quickly she struck out with her other fist only for it to also be caught.

Kuroda then began to stand up, looming over the shorter woman and staring her straight in the eye.

Jinta and Ururu, who had been woken up by the commotion, came running in. They stopped right behind Kisuke and simultaneously asked, "What happened? What's going on?"

Then the most unexpected thing of all happened.

Kuroda leaned in closely to Yoruichi and pressed his lips against hers.

The action was the single most shocking thing that had happened for all three shinigami in the passed century.

Yoruichi in particular was caught off guard by this.

When Kuroda finally pulled back she was still speechless.

Kuroda gave her a small smile, and softly whispered into her ear "it's me."

"I…I…"stuttered Yoruichi,

Before she could say anything more, Kuroda pressed in again and kissed her deeply. It felt so sincere and passionate, Yoruichi couldn't help but melt into it.

Soon, she even began to kiss him back.

"Whoa," said Jinta,

"Oh my," said Ururu.

"Uh…" Kisuke quickly took out his fan and blocked the eyes of the two children while using his free hand to cover his own eyes.

Jinta and Ururu of course simply moved around the fan to continue to watch Kuroda and Yoruichi embrace each other.

The two eventually broke off to comeback for air.

"We'll have to do that some more after all of this is over," smiled Kuroda.

"Are you really..?" Yoruichi trailed off,

"Of course I am," Kuroda then turned to the still blind shopkeeper, "Kisuke! Where's AnShen?"

The blonde man peeked through his fingers, after making sure it was safe to look again he uncovered his eyes and smiled.

"So you found a way to win," Kisuke said jovially as he produced Anshen out from behind him.

"You could say that." The shopkeeper tossed him his weapon which he promptly caught. Kuroda slid AnShen a few inches out of its sheath, allowing the blade to sing.

"Hello friend," Kuroda said to the sword, "time for us to make things right."

"Wait, time out!" declared Yoruichi, "what's going on here? Why are is Kuroda so…"

"Different?" finished Kuroda, Yoruichi nodded. "I guess you could say that I rediscovered a part of myself."

"Then you beat him? The other one, the one who kept taking over?"

"I didn't defeat him in a fight if that's what you're asking, there's no way that I could have. Not with the level of power he had. No, I used a different method. I talked to him."

"You talked to that psycho?"

"Hey! That psycho is me! But yeah, I did," confirmed Kuroda, "I convinced him to merge back with me. Now he and I are one."

"That would explain why you're a little more…chipper," decided Kisuke, "I kinda like it!"

"Me too," agreed Kuroda. He then turned back Yoruichi who was still staring at him with a bit of skepticisim.

"Hope this doesn't change how you feel about me," he said teasingly. Yourichi quite amazingly blushed at that, something which Kuroda found quite amusing.

"I can see why you do this now, it's really fun!" he laughed.

"Wha! Hey! I'm supposed to be-"

"Come here you," Kuroda suddenly wrapped his free hand around Yoruichi's waist and pulled her in another deep kiss.

"This could become a habit," he said, smiling at her.

"Mmmmm, I don't mind," purred Yoruichi.

Off to the side Kisuke made a few overly exaggerated gagging noises, "Oh gross! Am I gonna have to deal with this constantly from now on?"

"Probably," answered Kuroda.

"NO!"

"You'll get used to it," assured Kuroda.

"Now then," began Kuroda, his voice taking a darker turn.

"Where is Aizen?"

#

Kuroda made his way across the sky over the ruins of the Fake Karakura Town with his sword AnShen resting on his shoulder, its red blade shining brilliantly under the sun.

Rajin and Kaito were both in critical condition.

Captain Ukitake was down and possibly even dead.

Both Mashiro and Kensei were out of commission as well.

Most of those casualties were a direct result of one Arrancar, Tyran.

Kuroda continued his purposeful walk towards the Cero Espada. He had heard every single word that the Arrancar had said and his new found emotions cried out for retribution.

Suddenly a presence interrupted his march.

"Dad?"

Kuroda looked down upon his daughter. Her wonderfully innocent eyes staring up at him in wonder. No doubt she more than anyone else could feel the change inside of him. She looked at him not out of fear for her own life, but fear at the possibility of losing her father.

Those fears were quickly ended as Kuroda placed a hand on his daughter's head and smiled at her brightly.

Mei smiled back almost immediately, even letting out a small girlish giggle.

Reluctantly, the Commander of Black Ops moved passed the young girl and towards his objective, his eyes settling on Tyran.

Tyran, unfazed, stared right back.

The Cero Espada began moving forward as well, drawing his sword as he went.

Shinigami and Espada alike put a halt to their battles as the two titans of their armies gradually came closer and closer to their inevitable conflict.

Soon, the two were standing shoulder to shoulder with each other. Yet strangely enough, neither of them had moved to strike at the other.

Then Kuroda raised his blade across his chest.

Tyran did the same.

Then at the same time, they swung their swords away from their opponent. The result was a single massive trench dug across all of Karakura from the simple and pure force of the two combatants.

"None of you should cross that line," announced Kuroda,

"Because if you do," continued Tyran, "then you will most certainly die."

Without warning the two turned upon each other and struck out.

Their blades met in a single brilliant clash, sending waves of pure force spiraling throughout the two for all to feel.

"Well hello," said Tyran, perverse glee evident in his eyes, "looks like someone's decided to step it up a notch!"

"No warm ups," ordered Kuroda, ignoring the Arrancar's comments. "No dancing around each other, no testing each other's strength, and no holding back. We go all out at each other from the start, or not at all!"

Tyran found himself somewhat caught off by Kuroda's words. These were not the same words that the men he fought before would have said. But Tyran found himself enjoying the change.

"Alright then! I like how you think! I was getting real bored of all these other low-lives. It's time to see what a real fighter can do!"

The two combatants broke away at the same time, jumping back a few steps away from each other.

Kuroda raised AnShen.

"**Ban-Kai!"**

Red reiatsu engulfed Kuroda and slowly tornadoed around him in a massive congregation of damned souls mixed with screams of despair and agony. A chill, deeper and colder than any ice could ever create, speared itself through the fake town.

The air became stale and tinged with the smell of blood.

Kuroda's reiatsu was so dense and darkly powerful that some of the Arrancar felt hints of fear that they had only felt during their time as lesser hollow. Back when they lived in a eat or be eaten world where they could've been the meal of something bigger.

The tornado of souls disappated.

Kuroda stood in the form of his bankai.

His black cloak was now replaced by a dark red trench coat, one similar to the one worn by the spirit of AnShen with demonic patterns decorating its back.

His forearms had been armored, once before the black vambraces had been made of leather. Now that he had merged with his other they were made out of carved metal, though they still retained the same twisted and beautiful designs.

The change to his own visage was still the same. A large V, that started at the top of his forehead, crossed over his eyes, and met at the bottom of his chin.

"**Zenkai no Mokushi"**

Tyran smiled.

He could feel it, he could the power that radiated from his opponent. There was so much of it, he could feel it running down all the way to his bones!

It was so very glorious!

But Kuroda was not yet finished, he held AnShen to his chest with the tip pointing to the sky and spoke.

"**Dai-Ichi No Dankai: Shipan!"**

The same souls that had been responsible for his transformation to Bankai, converged on him again. This time they congregated onto his back and bestowed upon him a pair of impressive blood red wings.

Tyran threw back his head and laughed with ecstasy.

"Yes! Yes! This is the power that I had been told about! This is the power that has sent lesser beings scurrying for cover! This is the Kuroda I was promised!" he roared as though possessed, "and such a wonderful gift deserves an equally wonderful response!"

Tyran ripped his zanpaktou out of its sheath and held it out in front of him.

"**Usurp Heaven: Neikan Tenshi!"**

A purple fog exploded around Tyran, enveloping him behind a curtain and obscuring him from Kuroda's view.

He saw nothing, but he could hear the Arrancar's wicked laughter echoing from behind the veil. It was almost maddening just how malicious and arrogant it sounded.

Then the fog began to shape itself, twisting and turning until it eventually formed into a single massive skull with a pair of devil like horns upon its head.

Kuroda could have sworn it stared right at him.

It was evident now, the jump in his opponent's power.

He could feel it press down on him, but unlike others he was not overwhelmed by it. By now anyone not in the same power level as a Captain was having difficulty breathing the very air around them.

Two beings of such magnitude were never meant to meet, yet now they did.

The fog made skull broke as a figure walked out from between its eye sockets.

Kuroda gazed upon the resurrection of Tyran, the Cero Espada.

He was surprised to say the least.

Given Tyran's attitude and mannerisims, he would have expected something a little more savage or dark. A change that would represent the evil that Tyran knew he was.

But that was not the case.

In fact, Tyran's new form was almost…beautiful.

Like Kuroda, Tyran now sported a Trench coat instead of his usual Espada uniform. Unlike Kuroda however, Tyran's coat was of a much more elaborate design.

To Kuroda it looked like something worn by a Victoria era aristocrat or nobleman. It was for the most part pure white with artistic patterns of purple traveling up and down the back and arms like an overgrown group of vines. There was also a pair of golden shoulder tassels that added to its Victoria era feel.

Beneath the coat was a stylish vest of the same patterns and beneath the vest was a pure white gentleman's shirt of which seemed to be of the highest quality.

Then there was Tyran's face. It was obscured completely by a similarly white mask, shaped into a pure man's face. Not unlike something that would have been worn to a ball or formal dance. The only blemish upon the otherwise perfect mask was the pair of ceramic white horns jutting out from its forehead.

Had it not been for those two protrusions, Tyran would have been the picture of sophisticated class.

Then there was his weapon.

Much like Tyran, his new means of destruction and slaughter was an elegant saber with a white grip and a golden hand guard.

Then, as if to say "that's not all", Tyran's back suddenly sprout a pair of incredible wings matching the same color of his clothes.

Out of all the changes this one caught Kuroda the most off guard. He was somewhat unused to seeing someone else with wings like his own.

"Like them?" asked Tyran, noticing Kuroda's eyes linger on the wings. The Arrancar gave them a quick flap, sending a massive gust of wind rolling over the buildings below.

"You see before you my power personified. Now do you understand? We earned these wings! We earned our ascendance! By destroying everyone who got in our way, we showed the world that we are above them all! We-"

"Do you ever shut up?"

This time Tyran was taken aback.

Kuroda gave his own wings a quick flap.

"We didn't earn these, they are just what was given to us when we were born. They don't mean anything."

"Ha! Deny it all you want! You know I speak the truth!" replied the Arrancar, unfazed by Kuroda's criticism.

"Now then," Tyran raised his saber and aimed it at Kurouda, "shall we begin?"

Kuroda raised his own weapon, "as you wish."

Within a fraction of a second, both combatants were suddenly in front of each other.

Their swords clashed and the very sky above them split apart.

#

He was in darkness

Was he dead?

If so, death wasn't doing a very good job at being horrible.

So far it was just a whole lot of nothing, though for some that could be considered fairly horrible. But for Kaito it wasn't, he hated responsibility anyway so having nothing around to give him responsibility wasn't such a bad deal.

Then again nothing also meant no girls around. That kind of sucked.

It also meant no alcohol, which also sucked.

Okay, it was official. Being dead sucked.

"Is he getting any better?"

What the heck, was there someone else here?

"Don't you worry, he's fine. This isn't the first time he's had a hole blown through his chest."

"But he isn't moving."

"Oh, that just because I've got him sedated. Don't worry, I've got just the thing to wake him up."

Suddenly there was a familiar scent finding its way up Kaito's nose. It smelled like…

"Where's the sake!" he roared, suddenly sitting up and opening his eyes.

"See? Works every time," said Itsumi, the 5th seat of the Black Ops division and their only medic.

"Gimme the sake!" demanded Kaito.

Itsumi handed over the battle of alcohol she'd held under his nose to snap him out of his artificially induced sleep. The 3rd seat immediately snatched it up and chugged down the contents.

"Argh, I feel like I just had one of my wilder nights," he groaned after finishing the bottle and added, "not in the fun way either."

"You were out for quite some time," explained Itsumi, "and you had a hole blasted through your chest by a cero."

"Oh yeah, wait! Where's that asshole of an Arrancar? The old skeleton dude!"

"He's dead," said the other voice.

Kaito turned to it and smiled upon seeing the owner.

"Rajin! Buddy! You're alright!"

"I wouldn't exactly say alright," the Lieutenant said painfully. He was covered from head to toe with bandages, many of which were for burns instead of actual injuries.

"Yeah but you beat him right? I told you man, just got to have faith!"

"Glad to see you're feeling better already," Rajin quipped.

"Yeah well, I've had way worse before. Remember that one time when I-"

The Shinigami's words were cut off when a massive shockwave suddenly barreled into the roof top they were stationed on, threatening to knock all three of them onto the streets below.

"Holy shit! What the hell was that?"

"That was Kuroda," answered Itsumi, "he's fighting with the Cero Espada."

"Kuroda? Kuroda is back?" asked Kaito, Itsumi nodded with a smile on her lips, "well alright! We've got this in the bag now!"

"I don't know," said Rajin.

"What? Rajin! Dude! What the hell are you saying? It's the Kuroda, he'll be fine."

"His opponent, I've never felt so much raw power before."

"He'll be fine," assured Kaito, "he always is."

#

"Come on! Show me what you got!" roared Tyran as he shoved out his free hand and fired off a powerful cero.

Angling his wings, Kuroda gracefully rolled out of the path of the oncoming beam before using them to bursting forward like a torpedo.

"That's right come at me!" cheered the Arrancar as he fried Cero after Cero.

With incredible precision, Kuroda avoided all of the shots fired by his opponent. He weaved around the cero like a fighter jet would avoid enemy fire, performing barrel rolls and weaving to either side.

Judging the distance between himself and the Cero Espada and timing his movement just right, Kuroda dropped back to his feet and began to spin himself while bringing AnShen up for a wide swing.

Just as he had nearly spun a full 360 degrees, Kuroda called out: **"Shino Kabe!"**

AnShen drew a bloody line across the sky as it unleashed a massive wave of power.

A horse neighing echoed out as the wave took the form of a line of skeletal cavalry men riding upon rotting horses. The horrible sound of agony and suffering followed their thundering hooves.

The wave grew quickly as well.

By the time it was upon the Cero Espada, it had grown as tall as a five storing building and was wide enough that it was difficult for someone to see either end.

Behind his mask, Tyran simply smiled smugly.

The Arrancar calmly raised his saber and met the wave head on.

The wave crashed against his blade and found itself stopped in its tracks. It struggled fiercely against the Espada but he simply refused to budge.

"RRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

As the Expada struggled against the attack, he failed to notice a bulge forming out from above him. That bulge soon broke apart and revealed Kuroda, holding up AnShen to bring down on his opponent.

Tyran sensed the sneak attack at the last minute and quickly leapt away whilst simultaneously firing off another cero to counter the wave of red agony.

The resulting explosion caused a mass of fire and smoke that obscured Tyran's vision. But soon after the Arrancar sense a pulse of power and from out of the smoke came some demonic creature of hell.

It's serpentine body was crowded with faces of suffering souls and its massive maw was filled with razor sharp teeth while it's four eyes narrowed upon seeing its prey.

Tyran immediately recognized this attack as one Kuroda had used on him before. Rather than attempt to avoid it the Arrancar once again stood his ground.

As the living missile closed in on him he slashed his saber down and bisected it right down the middle, causing its two halves to fall to either side.

Unexpectedly, right behind the two halves of the attack came Kuroda. Like a man possessed he began swinging away at every exposed angle that Tyran had.

The Arrancar barely had time to mount a defense as the Shinigami's blood red blade began closing in on him with every single swing. Realizing that keeping himself on the defensive would spell disaster, the Espada began his counter attack.

As AnShen descended upon him again, he parried as usual. But this time he locked the blade against his saber's hilt and deflected it downwards. This left Kuroda quite exposed, Tyran took immediate advantage of that. He raised his free hand and fired off a quick cero.

In came Kuroda's wing's.

Like a great shield they protected Kuroda from the Cero, staving it off like a sturdy wall against an enemy siege.

When the Cero finally died away, the wing's parted. As they did, Kuroda gained a magnificent view of the tip of Tyran's weapon as it slid through the growing crack.

Kuroda's excellent reflexes kicked in and tilted his head to the side just enough to avoid having the saber jammed through his eye but not enough to miss having it cut a long line across his cheek.

Ignoring the minor wound, Kuroda sprung into action.

As Tyran continued forward the Shinigami's arm came out and wrapped itself around the Arrancar's sword arm, locking it in place.

Then it was his turn to strike. He raised AnShen to the sky then brought it down with all his strength but then Tyran's own wings intervened, blocking the strike. Kuroda had expected as much, which is why he immediately followed up with a knee to the Espada's gut.

From behind his mask, Tyran's eyes bulged as the wind was knocked right out of him.

To top it all off, Kuroda released the Arrancar's arm then used his wings to dash away, placing a good amount of distance between them.

He then raised his word up and called, **"Shibou Ryuu!"**

With a swing down he unleashed his hellish living missile. Tyran, having recovered, saw the attack and immediately used sonido to escape.

From abovethe Espada saw the detonation of the attack and laughed as he watched it annihilate nearly five blocks worth of buildings.

"Beautiful," he purred appreciatively. Distracted by his captivation, the Espada did not notice as his opponent used Shunpo to position himself right behind until it was too late.

Kuroda gathered up his power in AnShen and swung out.

"**Shino Kabe!"**

At this range, no amount of speed could save Tyran as the wave of death collided into his backside and sent him crashing down into the streets below. Kuroda's attack followed him and carved itself a massive trench into the earth, followed by a number of mushroom cloud explosions.

But not for a single second did Kuroda believe the Cero Espada was dead.

His belief was vindicated when he abruptly moved AnShen to protect his backside and was rewarded with the sound of metal on metal.

"Heh, trying to act cool?" asked Tyran, holding the lock between their blades.

"Not trying," Kuroda shot back,

"Heh" Tyran chuckled again, "I will admit, I didn't know quite what to expect when I felt your presence enter this stage. After our first battle, I was ready for disappointment. But now I see you've really stepped it up a notch."

Kuroda turned his head and saw that beyond a few scuffs on the Arrancar's elegant clothing, his opponent was for the most part completely unharmed.

His eyes narrowed, he hadn't been holding back with that attack.

"Alright, time to get really serious! This is now a duel to the death!"

"It already was."

Together the two combatants broke the lock and burst away from each other.

Then in a single instant, they were upon each other.

To onlookers their battle appeared to be nothing more than a blur of movement mixed with flurry of sparks. Their fight carried the two of them into the streets of Fake Karakura where they decimated the concrete buildings and roads wherever they went.

Dust and rubble obscured their movements, following them like a snake as they tore through the streets, punched through buildings, and flew into the sky.

Then they broke off from each other, each going the opposite way using their wings.

A single moment lingered as they stared at each other while floating in place. Then they dashed towards one another like a pair of hawks attempting to snatch each other up.

Kuroda swung his sword and Tyran swung his. They blasted past each other, sparks bursting out upon the point of contact.

Both angled their wings so that they could spin around and face each other once again.

Tyran moved first, flapping his wings and gliding towards his target. Kuroda flapped his wings as well but angled himself upwards first before diving down at the Arrancar.

The two collided and sent out a shockwave of pure kinetic force that nearly knocked over several buildings.

Kuroda swung at his foe, once, twice, thrice. Tyran blocked each attack then countered with a quick bala that Kuroda promptly dodged. As his opponent avoided the bala, Tyran thrust his saber forward.

The shinigami managed to maneuver himself just enough to avoid being stabbed though the blade ripped through the side of his coat. He then retaliated with a swift kick at the Arrancar's head, which was blocked at the last second by Tyran's wing.

Kuroda flapped his wings, bringing him up slightly higher than Tyran before dropping down on him with an over the head chop. Tyran in turn used his wings to push himself back, avoiding the attack before charging forward with a flurry of thrusts.

The shinigami parried all strikes and then riposted by deflecting one of the thrusts to the side before lashing out with his free hand with a wild haymaker.

Surprisingly Tyran caught the attack with his own freehand. His grip tightened on Kuroda's wrist, threatening to crush the shinigami's bones.

Thinking quickly, Kuroda moved himself skyward with his wings while curling his legs up to his chest. He then shot both feet out, kicking Tyran right in the chest and causing the Arrancar to let go and tumble through the sky into a building.

The shinigami flew after him with all haste, knowing that he had to keep up the pressure if he hoped to wing. While he flew, he called upon AnShen and began swinging wildly through the air, each swing left behind a wispy streak of red souls that followed after him.

"**Shino Tama"**

Tyran finally managed to find his footing and stop himself from tumbling any farther.

At the same time Kuroda commanded his volley of drones to attack the Arrancar. They flew at him with incredible speed, not even the Cero Espada could have hoped to counter all of them.

Instead, the Espada grabbed the blade of his sword with his free hand, allowing blood to flow freely. He then stretched out his bloody hand and began to spin purple energy into it.

"**Gran Rey Cero!"**

A massive blast of purple energy shot out from Tyran's hand, it spiraled erratically as it came forward. Each of Kuroda's drones were struck by the blast and completely disintegrated. The enhanced cero had just enough power to keep going forward and reach out towards Kuroda.

The Shinigami brought up his wings into a defensive shield.

The Gran Rey Cero washed over them, consuming him for a moment in a world completely comprised of the color purple.

When his world returned back to the one he knew, Kuroda immediately took for higher skies, not wanting to be caught off guard by his foe. Unfortunately Tyran had predicated this and had done the same long ago.

Kuroda flew right into his hands with his back to the Arrancar. Tyran took this opportunity to grab Tyran by his left wing, catching the Shinigami off guard.

Before Kuroda could do anything, Tyran brought his saber down and severed the feathery appendage.

Kuroda lost balance and was sent spiraling down in a nearly uncontrollable fall back down to earth. Thankfully as he neared the ground, Kuroda managed to reorient himself into an upright position and land on both of his feet relatively unharmed.

Tyran landed not too far away, a wolfish smirk behind his mask.

Without hesitation, Kuroda poured his power into AnShen and swung at the Arrancar.

"**Shinen Iki Mono!"**

A bright red light appeared from behind Kuroda, temporarily blinding all who stared at it. Then out of thin air a massive mouth filled with teeth as tall as a full grown man appeared. It moved forward with the speed of a freight train, pulling out the rest of itself from the dimension it called home.

A massive serpent with blood red scales and jagged black spikes running across its back.

It filled up the entire street and moved straight for the Arrancar in its path.

Tyran stood his ground, the smirk never leaving his face. He stretched out his hand and fired another Gran Rey Cero.

The serpent swallowed the attack wholly, absorbing all of it into its mouth.

A moment later, the beast exploded in a brilliant display of purple fire.

Tyran moved first, bursting through the flames without fear and catching Kuroda off guard. He grabbed the shinigami by the shoulder and with a roll of his shoulder tossed the man with all of his strength.

Kuroda screamed as he was sent smashing through at least half a dozen buildings before coming to a stop. When he finally did, he hung limply in the air upside down.

The Espada did not let up.

He was on Kuroda immediately, his saber flashing under the sun as he propelled Kuroda higher into the air. The two swung and blocked furiously, each one attacking and countering as best they could.

At this point, Kuroda's torn off wing had grown back and his ability to fly was restored.

But even with his renewed mobility, Tyran was matching him blow for blow.

When he scored a hit on the Arrancar's shoulder, the Arrancar would pierce him through the ribs.

When the Espada managed to land a glancing blow on his left leg, Kuroda managed to deliver a bone shatter punch to the Espada's collar bone.

But while Kuroda's injuries remained on him, Tyran's did not. His injuries were already being healed by his innate Arrancar healing abilities. Which meant between the two of them, Kuroda was worse off.

This was proven when Kuroda was forced to brace himself on his injured leg as Tyran attacked form above. Given the nature of the wound and the already tremendous force behind the Espada's attack, it was little surprise that Kuroda's leg betrayed him and gave out.

The Shinigami found himself tumbling back down to the streets though this time he had both of his wings to control his descent.

"It's not enough! Give me more!" roared Tyran as he folded his wings back and began a dive bomb down towards Kuroda.

The Commander of Seireitei's Black Operations could tell that he was beginning to lose this battle and would most likely die within the our if he did not raise the stakes.

"**Dainii no Dankai: Tatakau!"**

A massive congregation of souls oozed out form the ground beneath the shinigami and began wrapping around him, seeping into his very flesh. They granted him the power of their deaths, allowing him the ability to wage war against his enemies.

Much time had passed since Kuroda had first used this stage of his Bankai on the late Commander Hoshigaki. That time had given him a chance to mature this stage, to perfect it.

The first noticeable difference was that Kuroda's wings had melted away, spilled out onto the concrete beneath his feet.

However, in place of the wings was addition to his apparel. His hands were now armored with the same metal that the vambraces around his forearms had been forged from, giving him a pair of metal gauntlets.

In addition to that, beneath his crimson trench coat lay a metal breastplate that gave Kuroda's upper torso full protection. It was similar in its design to the armor worn by the ancient samurai and bore the same hellish features as Kuroda's other pieces of protection.

Not yet done, Kuroda flipped AnShen into a reverse hand grip and sunk its tip into the ground. A thick liquid substance began to emerge out from the Earth's wound and cover the surface until there was nearly a small lake around the blade.

A clawed hand burst out from the pool, followed by the snout of some monstrous reptilian creature. The claw anchored itself into the asphalt and pulled its owner from out of the bloody pool.

The massive lizard like beast was a creature straight from hell.

Covered in dark red scales that seemed to be rotting away, bristling with muscles, claws sharper than any sword, teeth like steak knives, and a long barbed tail that could strangle a full grown man. If the devil were to ever keep a lizard for pet, it would have looked like this thing.

It let out a throaty roar that echoed throughout the entire town.

Another clawed hand burst out from the pool, followed by another and another. All around Kuroda, the quadruped beasts ripped themselves from out of their watery grave and into the world of their master.

Six in total, the same amount as Kuroda had summoned on that night.

But while the number remained the same, the size of his animals had not. They were now a full size bigger, with each standing at least eight feet tall at the shoulder. That put them on par with Captain Komamura's height and each was nearly as long as two cars, one placed in front of the other.

Tyran spotted the pack of deadly lizards and was surprised to say the least.

Kuroda ripped AnShen from out of the ground and held up a closed fist.

The lizard's tensed their muscles, prepared to execute whatever command their master gave.

Kuroda turned his fist into a flat hand which he chopped in the direction of the still descending Arrancar. With blood thirsty roars, the beasts flung themselves into the air.

Tyran, unable to correct his direction quickly enough was immediately caught by one of the beasts and brought crashing down on top of a building.

Of course the animal was no match for the Cero Espada and soon found itself tossed off the building by a solid kick to its chest. But just as Tyran began to stand back up he was dogpiled by the rest of the beasts.

The Arrancar blasted them off with a burst of his reiatsu.

One of the demonic lizard quickly recovered and leapt at the Arrancar. Tyran quickly countered the attack by blasting the creature away with a quick cero.

Another came at him, swinging its razor sharp claws at him, he ducked under its wild swipes and swiftly lopped off its head with his saber. It flailed around heedlessly before flopping onto its back.

A third came at him, attacking from behind in an attempt to catch him off guard. Tyran easily sensed the attack and used his wings to bat his attacker away.

Suddenly he sensed another presence and raised his word to block the attack.

A burst of sparks sprinkled over the Arrancar's mask. Kuroda's eyes bore into him as he pressed his attack, breaking the lock by pushing the blades to the side and following up by punching the Espada right in the mask with his armored fist.

Tyran recoiled in pain, leaving him open for Kuroda bring AnShen back up and strike down.

AnShen bit deeply into the Arrancar's skin, completely ignoring the hierro.

The Cero Espada let out a roar of pain as a new wound appeared on his body, a deep cut that stretched from his right shoulder all the way down to his waist.

On instinct he stumbled away, placing distance between himself and the shinigami.

The tree remaining hell lizards flanked Kuroda. One nuzzled up to its master, Kuroda placed his hand on its head gently stroked it like a regular man would his loyal hound.

"An interesting power," smiled Tyran, "a shame the pack is only half of what it was."

"Is it?"

Behind his mask Tyran's face was one of confusion, that is until he turned his attention back to the corpses of the monster he slayed.

The one whose head he'd cut off suddenly had its skull reattached to its neck, a moment later muscle and skin began to regrow on the pale white bone until finally the whole had had been completely remade.

The lizard shook its newly made head before jumping back on all fours.

The other two he'd seemingly killed similarly healed themselves. The one he'd blasted a cero sealed up the hole that was in its stomach.

The one whom he'd hit with his wings, originally with its neck broken and head at an awkward angle, suddenly snapped all of it back in place.

"They don't die so easily," said Kuroda as though that explained everything,

"So I see," Tyran said admiringly, "but it won't save you. There is only room for one alpha in this universe, only one of us will be allowed to claim the title of strongest. That. Will. Be. ME!"

"I don't pretend to understand you Arrancar, you're a mystery to me. You claim to be the strongest, yet you work under Aizen."

"Ha! There's nothing to understand, after you, he's next," declared the Espada proudly, "I'll kill everything and everyone. It doesn't matter who they are, human, Arrancar, Shinigami, whatever! I will show them all that I am the strongest! That I was born to rule! That I was born to be worshipped! All the Arrancar of Hueco Mundo will bow before me! All the Shinigami of Seireitei will speak my name with utter terror! The humans of the world of the living will see me as GOD!"

Kuroda snorted as he finally gained a full picture of the mystery that was his enemy. What he saw was a disgruntled, greedy, selfish, arrogant angel. One who had become dissatisfied with his lot in life, with how the world worked.

So now he tried to usurp all those above him and take their place.

If there was a God, then Tyran would have gladly played the part of Satan. But just like Satan, Kuroda would ensure that Tyran would ultimately fail in his pursuit.

Kuroda's suddenly burst forward and thrust out AnShen. Tyran expertly parried the attack only for one of Kuroda's hounds to draw its claws across his exposed back.

The Arrancar attempted to take to the skies but another hound leapt up after him and used its immense weight to bring him crashing back down. He kicked it off only to face Kuroda's blade coming down at him.

Tyran tucked in his wings and rolled away, saving his head from decapitation.

As he tried to get up, yet another demonic lizard hound came at him with snapping jaws. Tyran viciously stabbed it through the eye before blasting it in half with another cero.

But another snuck up on him smacked him to the ground with its tail.

This gave Kuroda time to grab the Arrancar by the collar of his coat and toss him into the air before swinging AnShen after him and calling out: **"Shino Kabe!"**

A wall of souls was unleashed after the airborne Arrancar.

Tyran recovered and regained control of his movements. He immediately countered the incoming wave of souls by blasting it with a Gran Rey Cero.

The resulting explosion and smoke covered nearly a quarter of the Fake Karakura Town. This prevented Tyran from seeing the incoming rubble that had suddenly found the ability to fly. As a result, a car abruptly appeared in his vision and nearly flew right into him.

The Car was followed by what looked to be the corner section of some building. That was followed by what was evidently a billboard sign. Then after that was even more rubble taken out of various buildings.

Suddenly Kuroda came bursting out of the smoke, AnShen raised over his head, ready to deliver a powerful over the head blow.

Using his greater mobility, thanks to his wings, Tyran easily evaded the attack and maneuvered himself into a flanking position behind Kuroda. He struck back, hoping to catch the Shinigami in the spine. Kuroda moved AnShen and deflected the blow.

At the same time one of the lizard hounds came leaping through the smoke after its master. Upon which it latched its massive body onto Tyran, preventing the Arrancar from moving.

As the Arrancar attempted to free himself from the monster's grasp, the thing's belly suddenly split open, revealing the multitude of rotting corpses stored inside its body. The seemingly deceased bodies suddenly sprang to life and used what limbs they had to latch onto Tyran and drag him into the monster's belly.

Acting on pure instinct, Tyran began to put out as much reiatsu as he could. The sheer force of it soon ripped the reptile to pieces, no doubt it would take a good long while before it managed to piece itself together again.

That's when Kuroda's foot crashed into the Espada's masked face.

Tyran stumbled back in surprise and pain.

Kuroda pressed his attack but Tyran lashed out, keeping the Shinigami at a distance. One of his blows got lucky and scored a hit on Kuroda's ribs but the new armor that he had donned upon unlocking this new stage kept the sword from doing any real damage.

This allowed the Commander to retaliate with an armored punch to the Espada's gut.

Enough force was placed behind the blow that the very air from Tyran's lungs was knocked out and he actually fell to his knees in pain.

The tide had turned and Tyran knew it.

While the majority of the blows being scored on him were minor, the fight itself was becoming decidedly one sided. Kuroda's new form had given him an extra line of defense. Plus, those demonic lizards were becoming a real pain in his ass.

They were excellent distractors for the Shinigami to use or guerrilla fighters, running in and out to attack the Espada while he was dealing with Kuroda.

"No!" he growled as he held his injured stomach, "I will not fall!"

The Espada began to rise back to his feet. But then Kuroda kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling back to the 'ground'.

"No!" roared Tyran, standing back up, "I will not die here! I will not fall to you! I will not become another page in someone else's legend! I will be victorious! I will show myself to be the strongest! I will show myself as a God among all of you!"

"You're nothing more than a delusional fool," said Kuroda, "an angel, looking up at God and falling to his own ambition."

"NO! NO! I AM THE MOST POWERFUL! ME!"

Tyran began to emanate a purple haze around his body. His saber, beautiful and elegant, suddenly cracked at the base of the blade. That crack spider webbed its way up the blade until the weapon seemed to be on the verge of breaking.

Similarly, the Espada's mask cracked right above the left eye. That crack traveled down over the eye and all the way down to the left corner of the mouth.

From the cracks of both the sword and the mask, a thick purple ooze began to seep out not unlike Kuroda's own power. But unlike Kuroda's power, this ooze began to manifest itself in a different way. It began to solidify, forming some sort of organic skin over the saber and the left side of the mask.

The corruption and ugliness that had been hidden under the façade of beauty was finally breaking out. Even Tyran's wings began to become covered with the substance, mutating into perversions of their once brilliant beauty.

He was showing the world what he truly was, a Fallen Angel. One how had been sent away from heaven for proclaiming over and over again that out of everyone else he deserved more, that he deserved to be worshipped.

The purple haze surrounding Tyran became more intense and more pervasive. It spread out like a fog, engulfing both Kuroda and his faithful pack of reptiles. One of them, the closest to Kuroda, let out a throaty growl in challenge as it sensed the change in its prey.

Tyran stood up to his full height and raised his weapon at Kuroda.

The saber was now more akin to the jawbone of some massive creature, covered in a thick purple skin that was ripe with open sores and ulcers. Along the side where the blade had once been was a line of large teeth, all sharp and as deadly as any single blade.

The Fallen Angel's wings were now of a purple coloration, the major difference was that each feather now held what upon closer inspection, was in fact an eye. A bulging yellow eye with a black iris that twitched around on its own as though connected to someone's brain.

The ooze that had dripped down from the broken part of Tyran's mask had managed to land on the Espada's coat and sleeves. It hardened and formed into a similar leathery purple skin, attaching itself to the Arrancar's body like an overgrown vine of flesh.

The substance that had landed on Tyran's left shoulder and tassels and mutated even more, shaping itself into a large bulge of flesh that soon morphed into what looked like an actual working mouth filled with sharp teeth.

It was disgusting, all of it.

"I will show you what true power is Kuroda! I will break your body but I will not kill you! No, I will kill everyone else first! The Shinigami, your friends, your family, then Aizen, and any Arrancar that does not accept me as their ruler! I will kill them all! Until I am finally given what is rightfully mine! RAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

With that mighty roar, Tyran charged forward with almost unimaginable speed.

Before Kuroda knew it, the Arrancar was right in front of him with his terrifying weapon raised to strike the shinigami down.

The Commander pushed off his heel and leapt away. Tyran's strike struck the pavement and a massive geyser of asphalt, concrete, rubble, and dust exploded towards the sky. The pure force of it actually managed to send Kuroda's pack of followers tumbling away into their surroundings.

Before Kuroda could land back onto the ground, he heard a distinct buzz. He whipped his head and his eyes widened with surprise.

'_When did he get in behind me?'_

Tyran struck out with a wide swing that Kuroda was forced to avoid using his Shunpo. The Corrupt Angel followed after with his Sonido, keeping in perfect step with his adversary.

'_If I can just keep a few steps in front of him, I can buy myself enough time to-'_, Kuroda's train of thought was interrupted when Tyran suddenly appeared in front of him, a Cero in hand.

"Shit!" Tyran fired his Cero, an enormous beam of purple energy lanced out and blasted its way to the very edge of the town.

Kuroda from up above, felt a seed of dread grow inside of his stomach. As he gazed down on the destruction below, Tyran appeared above. Kuroda sensed his opponent at the last moment and managed to bring up AnShen.

Tyran brought his weapon down and Kuroda was sent spiraling down from the sheer force of the attack. He crashed through the top of a building and came tumbling out of its side.

By then his pack of lizards had managed to recover and rallied to his side.

Not that it mattered, their individual strength, whether attacking by themselves or as a group, would not be enough to take down Tyran. Not at the current level the Corrupt Angel had taken himself to.

So Kuroda issued a new order to his pack.

With a mental wave of his hand. Two of the pack, turned on the rest of their group and killed the other four. After the four lizards lay bloody in the street, their corpses began to fuse to the remaining two.

Each lizard grew in size, becoming 10 feet tall at the shoulder, now able to loom over even the massive Captain Komamura.

Additional spines grew on their backs, becoming even more pronounced.

But even more alarming was their head, or rather, their _heads_.

From either side of each lizard's head, grew out another head just like it. If the lizard's previous form had been nothing but a pet, this new form was equitable to a guard dog.

Tyran, blinded by his rage, did not even register the change and decided to dive straight at his target.

With another mental command and a direction from his sword, Kuroda ordered his new guard animals to attack.

The pair of three-headed mega lizards obeyed immediately. Each dug their razor sharp claws into the concrete beneath them. With their immense strength, they ripped out enormous chunks of the earth. Each piece was at least the size of a small building.

They tossed their improvised missiles at the incoming Arrancar.

Tyran just continued his dive towards Kuroda. When the first giant chunk of rock reached him, he swung out with his sword and obliterated it from his view. The next one he didn't even bother raising his sword for and instead just flew right into it.

The missile simply exploded from Tyran's power, scattering before him like a flock of sheep before a wolf.

Their barrage having failed, the two Cerberus-esque lizards resorted to more physical means. Both leapt into the air, their incredibly powerful legs propelling them right at the incoming Espada.

The first one to reach Tyran lashed out with its claws and managed to strike a blow across the Corrupt Angel's chest before landing back on the ground.

The next three-headed beast was not as lucky. As it reached out to attack, Tyran swung out with his sword and drew a gash from the thing's collar bone all the way to its stomach. It roared in pain the entire way back down.

The first one leapt up again, intent on using its brother's misfortune to land a surprise attack on Tyran's back. But the Espada whipped around at the last moment and lashed out. His weapon cleaved through the necks of all three heads.

Together, the body and the three heads fell.

But before they could even hit the ground, Kuroda was there. He swung at Tyran's backside, hoping to score a lucky shot. The Espada gracefully ducked under, spun around, and grabbed Kuroda by the neck.

The Shinigami reacted immediately, kicking out with his feet, landing a blow on the Arrancar's chest that forced him to let go.

As he flew back, Kuroda cocked back his sword and swung: **"Shino Kabe!"**

He unleashed a cavalry charge of the undead, backed up by a wave of suffering souls that threatened to engulf his opponent. Tyran wrapped himself with is wings and let the wave wash over him, upon sensing that it was over he opened up his wings.

"**Shino Kabe!"**

Tyran's gaze went skyward and he saw his opponent unleash another cavalry charge from above at close range. The wave crashed into Tyran's exposed body and dragged him down to earth before exploding in a brilliant display of red fire.

But as the smoke and dust cleared, the Arrancar emerged virtually unharmed.

Just then Kuroda's loyal guard beasts had managed to regenerate their injuries. They surrounded the Arrancar, circling around him like a pair of predators around a cornered animal.

Tyran snorted and reached his hand out.

Suddenly both lizard hounds began to cry out in pain. The source was soon apparent, from out of their eyes, nostrils, and mouth, the same purple ooze that had leaked out from Tyran's sword and mask began to come out.

On various parts of their body, large purple blotches on their otherwise red scales began to form. Before long the purple substance began to cover the lizards, forming that same organic skin that now covered Tyran.

"What the hell?" asked Kuroda as he watched his faithful beasts slowly get over taken by Tyran's corruption.

"Your, pets are now mine!" Tyran laughed arrogantly,

Sure enough, as soon as the lizards were completely covered in the purple substance, their first act was to leap into the air and attack their former master.

Kuroda reacted with speed befitting the Commander of Black Ops.

"**Shibou Ryuu!"** he launched his hellish missile at the first three headed lizard. It smashed right into the beast before carrying it off and exploding.

The second one managed to make a single swipe at Kuroda before he retaliated by slicing off its front right arm. It seemed to barely register the wound as it lashed out with its other set of claws.

Caught by surprise, the corrupted beast managed to drag its claws over Kuroda's right pectoral before he finally drove AnShen down its throat and sent it falling back to the ground.

Tyran was suddenly there, his weapon ready to swing out in a wide arc. Kuroda reacted by jumping up and front flipping over his opponent.

The Corrupt Angel's sword sent out a massive wave of dark purple energy out that leveled everything in its path.

As he began to land, Kuroda spun on his heel and tried to strike Tyran across the back. But without turning around the Espada brought up his sword and parried the strike.

Finally he spun around and attacked.

Kuroda cried out as Tyran's sword cut through his armor like it was made of paper, digging into the flesh beneath. From his left collar bone down to his right pectoral and then from his right pectoral down to the left hip bone he was wounded.

The Shinigami used shunpo to escape.

Tyran countered by reaching out with his free hand and firing off an endless stream of Bala at his enemy. Kuroda used his speed and shupo to avoid the majority of the deadly projectiles, but finally he slipped up and one of the struck him in the dead center of the chest.

The force of the bala spun like a top, another hit him in the back and he stumbled. Another hit him and suddenly he was falling to earth.

He landed right in the middle of a road, creating a large crater where he landed.

Kuroda's breath was harsh and shallow, a coughing fit overtook him and blood erupted from his mouth to stain the ground. His wounds were severe, already he could feel the life draining from him.

"I think I'm finally dying," he whispered. Technically he should have been happy, after all, for such a long time he'd been looking for a way to die. He'd hung himself, drunk poison, even thrown himself off of a cliff.

But strangely enough, he didn't want to die. Not this time, not when he finally had a chance to make things right with everyone he loved.

Idly, he remembered how not too long ago he'd done what he never though he'd ever do. He'd kissed Yoruichi.

It hadn't been like he'd thought it would be.

His mind hadn't gone blank, he hadn't felt an immediate connection with Yoruichi, nor had he suddenly been filled with undying love.

But her lips had been quite soft and he had felt an unmistakable amount of arousal.

Unintentionally, Kuroda smiled to himself and whispered, "I should have kissed her harder, never got to try tongue."

With great difficulty, Kuroda managed to push himself out of the rubble.

"Still alive?" He turned his gaze, blurry as it was, up and saw that Tyran was idly hovering high above him. Those thousands of eyes on his wings glaring down on him, watching to see what he would do next.

On the ground, Kuroda- no Tyran's, corrupted lizard hounds had regenerated from the injuries that Kuroda had dealt them. They roared at him hungrily, holding back only because their master commanded them to do so.

"So that's what this feels like," Kuroda whispered to himself, remembering all the times he'd been in the same position Tyran was currently in.

It felt strange to be the powerless one for once, oddly enough though, Kuroda found it very refreshing. He'd experienced the superior position a hundred times over, being the underdog was a nice change.

Pain suddenly lanced up Kuroda's body, the wounds were beginning to take their toll.

The shinigami didn't have much left to hold himself together.

This would needed to be finished now, either he would die or Tyran would. That was just simply how it had to be.

Kuroda sucked in a deep breath, held it, then let it out.

Gripping AnShen's hilt tightly, he gathered all his remaining power together. Tyran noticed this, with a flick of his wrist he commanded **his** hounds to tear Kuroda apart.

The first one was upon the shinigami in the blink of an eye.

With all the power he had left poured into AnShen's blade, Kuroda swung at the attack beast.

The blade cleaved through the monster, all the way to the spine. Then, it simply vanished as Kuroda's power completely overwhelmed it and reduced it to the very definition of nothing. A massive geyser or rubble, dirt, and dust followed by Kuroda's distinctive red wailing reiatsu served as the monster's funeral detail.

The second attacked, paying no heed to what had happened to first.

Kuroda jumped up and swung AnShen down in a two-handed over the head strike. Just like the other, once AnShen had traveled half way down the monster, Kuroda's power completely overwhelmed its very existence and hit was literally erased from existence.

A similar burial was given to it.

Without hesitation, Kuroda dug his heel into the ground and leapt up at his opponent.

AnShen was stretched out in front of him, its tip aimed right at Tyran.

All his remaining power, all his strength, Kuroda mustered all of it for this last moment.

Either Tyran would die, or he would!

Either **Tyran** would die, or **He **would!

Either _**TYRAN**_ would die, or _**HE**_ would!

Kuroda repeated the sentence over and over in his head.

He kept speaking it to himself and it only got louder as he grew closer to the Arrancar.

Tyran never moved, he only watched as the shinigami grew near. But he sensed the power behind the blade and he knew that if Kuroda managed to land his strike, the Corrupt Angel might be forced to flee the field.

That would not happen, Tyran would not leave this battle with his tail tucked between his legs.

He would be victorious.

With a mighty roar, Kuroda closed the final distance between the two of them. He thrust AnShen forward, aiming straight where Tyran's heart would be.

AnShen moved closer

Closer

Closer

Tyran made no move.

AnShen cut through the fabric of Tyran's elegant tunic, it bit through into the Arrancar's chest. Kuroda felt his zanpaktou move through….

Nothing?

By now AnShen had made its way through the Corrupt Angel and was plainly stick out the other side. But the Arrancar showed no pain, no sign of dying. He just stood there, his gaze boring into the shinigami.

"You aimed for the heart," the Espada finally said. His free hand moved and he begun to unbutton his tunic, "it's too bad for you, that I don't have one."

Tyran pulled back his shirt and revealed the reason that Kuroda's attack had had no effect.

He hadn't thought about it until now, it had simply been something in the back of his mind. It didn't seem important at the time. Yet here it was now, punishing him for his lack of oversight.

If only he had thought about it before.

If only he had stopped to ask the question.

If only…

If only…

If only…

If only he had tried to find out where Tyran's hollow hole had been.

Now he knew, Tyran's hollow hole was positioned right where the Arrancar's heart should have been. In essence, he had no heart.

Kuroda's attack had hit nothing.

"This ends now," announced the Heartless Arrancar.

With blinding speed his hand came around and grabbed Kuroda's wrist, then he squeezed, hard. Kuroda shut his eyes in pain as the Espada's superior strength went to work on his bone structure. The pain was bad, but he could deal with pain.

His body on the other hand, had its breaking points.

Tyran broke past that point when he finally broke Kuroda's wrist and the shinigami's body forced him to release his precious sword.

The Corrupt Angel then began to spin, around and around they went until he finally let go and sent Kuroda flying. Kuroda went smashing through half a dozen buildings before he finally came to a stop and smashed into a tower's outer wall.

But he was still alive.

Tyran knew how to fix that.

Yanking AnShen from the void in his chest. He cocked it back like a javelin and threw it.

The red blade flew perfectly along the path Kuroda had gone, it was almost amusing how much less noise it made as it went compared to its owner.

Kuroda, dazed from his flight, felt himself falling from the wall.

Then he saw a flash of red.

He didn't feel like he was falling anymore.

He felt pain, lots of it.

The Shinigami tasted blood in his mouth.

He turned his eyes down and he saw the cause. AnShen, his AnShen, his zanpaktou, the tool he'd used to slay countless enemies, was stick out of his chest.

It had cut deep, deep enough to come out the back and pin him to the building.

He tried to reach for the hilt but found that his limbs would not respond. That's when he knew, he was dying. For real this time.

"Impaled on my own sword," he managed to whisper to himself, "almost poetic really."

Despite the situation, a small smile touched his lips.

Perhaps he simply found humor in the irony of the situation or perhaps it was because he was finally getting to die. Even Kuroda himself didn't quite understand why he chose to smile at that time.

He heard a faint buzz and saw a pair of pure white boot enter into his vision.

With what strength he had left, Kuroda turned his head up just enough to see who it was.

It was Tyran, the Corrupt Angel, and soon to be killer of the Commander of Seireitei's Black Ops division.

Though he could not see it, Kuroda knew there was a smile behind that stupid mask.

Why was the world suddenly getting darker? Was the sun setting?

Why was it so cold all of a sudden?

Was there even a working sense of time within the Fake Karakura?

Where was Yoruichi?

He really wanted Yoruichi right now, if only so he could see her one last time, to tell her that he was sorry he was going to die.

"Yoruichi" he whispered as his last breath finally exited his lips.

Then there was only darkness and the coming void.

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_"**NO! I WILL NOT LET IT END HERE!"**_

**End**

**A/N**

**Yeah, it's been a while hasn't it?**

**Well hopefully I gave you a good enough chapter to make up for lost time. I'm off school right now for the summer but I have a job to deal with.**

**So while I won't be having as much time as I wish I could, I definitely have more than before. So I will be updating my stories a little more regularly.**

**That's not to say that you'll be getting new chapters every week but better than what you've been getting hopefully.**


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

The Return

It was dark in the barracks of Seireitei's Black Ops, but then again it was always dark.

The atmosphere fit the occupation and name of its occupants. They were the shadows of the white city, the darkness in a land of light. They were called upon to perform the deeds too unspeakable for a regular Shinigami.

On this night, the Black Ops had committed the crime of mass murder. Every single living thing in District 80, man, woman, and child, had been slaughtered.

Most had been done in by the Hollows that the members of the Black Ops division had called in. An effective cover for their operation and a useful tool to thin the number of targets. Those who had been eaten were the lucky ones, for they died in ignorance.

But those who died by the blades of the Black Operatives, the shadows, they died knowing what the Hollow attack had truly been, a culling.

In the end, the rebellion that the crime lords of Zaraki had planned had been demolished and the residents of the other 79 districts were reminded of just how much they needed the Shinigami to protect them.

It had been a text book operation.

The objective had been completed and no one beyond those who had done the operation knew any better about what had happened.

Except for perhaps…one.

A single survivor.

A young girl.

Itsumi Ryou, the 5th seat of the Black Ops division, hovered over the small frail body of that same girl. Her healing kido stitched backed together torn flesh and mended broken bones. As the division's sole medic and a trained lethal assassin, Itsumi had seem her fair share of horrible injuries.

It came with the job.

But this was something else. This was no mere injury.

Simply from looking at the girl's tiny body, the way her small chest barely made the journey up and down with each breath.

By all rights this young girl should have been dead long ago. If not from her injuries than at the very least by the hand of Itsumi's own son.

That had after all been their mission, to kill everyone.

But here she was, in the halls of the very Division that had tried to kill her.

And here was Itsumi, patching her the small girl with all her might.

Kuroda had ordered that this young little creature not die and Itsumi intended to see that order through. But still, her eyes drifted every now and then to the thin red line running down the girl's face. After many years, Itsumi had learned the distinct cuts that each weapon made.

The wound on the young one's face was undoubtedly that of a katana, not unlike the zanpaktou that most Shinigami wielded.

It wasn't hard to put two and two together.

Obviously Kuroda had taken a swing at the girl.

But if that was the case then the girl would not be before Itsumi this very moment. So what had happened, clearly the girl had survived.

The question was how?

"Your hands are wavering," a voice suddenly broke through the 5th seat's musings.

"Have you been drinking again?" asked Kuroda, Commander of the Black Ops division and her son.

Itsumi gave her child a weak smile, "you know me, once I get going I can't stop."

"You know it's not good for you," added Kuroda, his tone horribly even.

"Mmmm," she grunted, "but it's the only way I get to sleep now that your father is….gone."

So many years had passed since that day and his mother still couldn't bring herself to say the word "dead". It was a heart wrenching thing to see, even more so that Kuroda knew that he was the one responsible for her misery.

He had been there on the day his father had died.

He had been there, because he had been the one to hold the blade.

The blade that had pierced through his father's back, killing him.

He had killed his father.

"It's a miracle that she's alive," said Itsumi, breaking the silence, "if anyone else had the same injuries as she had, they'd be dead before you ever brought them to me."

"She'll make it won't she?" asked Kuroda. His tone betrayed no worry or fear, it only put forth a question and nothing more.

"It's a bit early to say yes, but she is surprisingly resilent. At this point I think I can confidently say that she will most likely make it. But even after she's stable, she's going to need a lot of time to recover."

"Hmmm, not unexpected I suppose."

"Is that why you let her live?" Itsumi suddenly asked,

Kuroda at first gave her silence, whether it was because he was unwilling to answer or because he could not give an answer Itsumi could not tell.

But finally he broke his silence, "I honestly don't know."

"Perhaps," he continued, "I want to see her live on because she has already survived so much and that it would be a shame to see such perseverance ended so quickly. It'd make a sad story."

"Sad story? Am I still speaking to my son?"

"Or perhaps" continued Kuroda, ignoring his mother's jab, "I simply see her as a possible resource for us to use in the near future. Who knows, with that kind of stubborn instinct to live on, she could make a powerful Shinigami."

"It's not because you simply felt like showing mercy?"

"More likely it is because I decided not to show her mercy."

Itsumi snorted, but at the same time she wholly agreed. There were fates worse than death, many might consider their existence to be one of them.

#

Despite his fairly prestigious position in the Gotei 13, Kuroda was not well known throughout the ranks of the Shinigami. Frankly, he wanted to keep it that way.

He preferred not to have his face too recognizable to the common peoples. It brought about unwanted attention and made it too easy for enemies to pick him out.

He did have a reputation amongst those who knew who he truly was however, that was also fine. A reputation could serve one just as well as not having one.

It was a careful balance to have a useful reputation but one not big enough as to cause trouble.

One of the benefits of not having too big a reputation was the ability to simply stroll through the streets of Rukongai without having to fight of admirers. Kuroda had once gone out on the streets with Captain Ukitake of the 13th Division and that had been quite the nightmare.

Every step they took there had been around a dozen admirers asking for the man's autograph or begging him to regale them with stories of his adventures. It had made Kuroda, who had simply wanted to go to lunch with the man, very irritable for the rest of the day.

In fact after that day he swore he'd never go out in Rukongai with Captain Ukitake ever again.

No, he would simply walk through the streets alone and unrecognized. A ghost amongst the crowd, moving through unseen.

Besides, this way it was easier to get to the food stalls that were stationed up and down the streets. Kuroda was at such a food stall right now, eyeing the steaming meat buns that the proprietor had on display.

Kuroda bought three and began to move away from the stall. As he did a larger group of Shinigami moved to the front of the stall. They must have been from the 11th division because they were unusually loud and obnoxious.

A quick scan over the group and Kuroda recognized several seated members of that same division, confirming his hypothesis.

But his eyes found themselves drawn to a different individual.

A citizen of Rukongai.

Unimportant, unrecognizable, and fairly unimpressive. The citizen was rather short, only tall enough to stare at Kuroda's chest.

But there was a certain air around the man for those who had a sixth sense for this sort of thing. Kuroda melded into the crowd and watched the citizen with great interest.

The citizen moved through the group of Shinigami like a leaf riding the rapids. He swirled and flowed through the crowd fluidly, so fluidly that not a single Shinigami, not even the seated members, gave a hint that they recognized his presence.

Kuroda was rarely impressed and he'd probably never admit it, not out loud at least. But he was indeed impressed. An untrained citizen moving through the forces of Seireitei completely unseen.

This occurrence warranted a certain amount of investigation.

Kuroda watched as the citizen ducked into an alley way, leaving the scene as though he'd never been there.

Said citizen picked up his pace a bit, diving further into the alley.

Then suddenly, he was on the ground.

Pain lanced up his backside as he unceremoniously fell onto his bottom. He looked up and saw a dark figure looming above him.

"60 coins, a ribbon, three collector's cards, and four concealed knives," the figure said.

"What?" asked the citizen, his voice shaking ever so slightly.

"That is what you managed to get away with, impressive for someone who's never been trained. Doubly so when you consider who the target was," continued the figure, he then knelt down and looked directly into the citizen's eyes, "you went through their pockets as though time stood still."

The citizen swallowed, hard.

"Why do you steal?"

That question caught the citizen off guard. After a few minutes consideration, he finally answered, "because I get hungry, because I get bored."

"Truly? This is dangerous recreation you have, if you're ever caught you could be in serious trouble."

"I know, but…I just can't help myself."

Kuroda stared at the citizen before him, it'd be easy to take the things he'd stolen and return them to their rightful owners. That's how things worked in the right world.

But Kuroda knew better than anyone else, this world was anything but right.

"How'd you like a job?"

#

Blood

It was everywhere

It drenched the grass and earth like rain after a heavy thunder storm.

Bodies

They covered the ground

They were spread out over the field like seeds being sown upon farmland

It was a picture that defined the word: massacre.

Traitors, that's what they had been. That's the reason their bodies now fertilized the dirt beneath them. That's the reason they were now food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. That's why they had been struck down.

Deserters who had decided they no longer wished to abide by the rules of Soul Society. They had decided to abandon their posts and form their own little group.

Retribution had been swift and painless.

Kuroda hadn't even given them a chance to defend themselves. He had simply walked through them, his blade a simply flash of light to their eyes.

They had all died believing that they would be able to conquer the world.

All except one, one of them Kuroda had let live.

Now he was drenched in the life liquid of his comrades. Kuroda stood over their corpses like the incarnation of death himself.

Despite all the blood surrounding him, not a single drop had found its way onto his body.

The last remaining traitor could only gape up in horror at what stood before him. All sense of rebellion left his body.

He simply dropped to his knees and allowed the overwhelming fear to take over.

Kuroda moved towards him his blade raised high.

The traitor's death was not painless like his comrade's had been. Kuroda made sure to make an example of this one.

The next day when an allied group of traitors came upon the scene, they were not only greeted with a scene of death, they were greeted by a picture of pain.

Kuroda had strung the last traitor up upon a tree. Taken the blades of the other traitors and, one by one, pierced him the survivor's body with them.

All up and down the traitor's body were the blades.

They were lined up savagely yet precisely.

Savage enough for the pain to be immense but precise enough that the man didn't die right away. Kuroda left him upon that tree as a message to those who came upon the scene.

"The Bloody Shadow is coming for you"

#

It was always a party at the _Golden Koi_, not matter what day of the week or the hour of the day, it was always a lively affair inside of the establishment.

Which was the primary reason why Yoruichi had decided that she, Kisuke, and Kuroda would have their weekly gatherings there.

The alcohol was high quality, the people were always happy, and Kuroda didn't totally hate the color scheme.

A special bonus was that no one ever got mad at you for being drunk at the _Golden Koi,_ mostly because everyone else was drunk too.

"AH!" gasped Yoruichi as she downed her fifth cup of sake.

"AH!" gasped Kisuke as he downed his fourth cup of sake.

"Hmm," mumbled Kuroda as he sipped his first cup of sake, again.

"Come now Kuroda, a man isn't a man unless he could hold his alcohol!" goaded Yoruichi in typical fashion.

"Yeah come on Kuroda, join in the fun!" followed Kisuke, also in typical fashion.

"I prefer to remain sober," replied Kuroda as a pair of drunk Shinigami fell down behind him, "alcohol makes people do stupid things."

"Oh? Well maybe me and you should do some of those stupid things," teased Yoruichi as she moved uncomfortably close to Kuroda, "alcohol is quite the aphrodisiac ya know."

"W-what?! Are you drunk already?" asked Kuroda, allowing the woman to get under his skin in typical fashion.

"Oh oh oh! You've got him blushing Yoruichi!" noticed Kisuke,

"You aren't helping!"

"Oh come on now, have a little bit of fun!" begged Yoruichi, "get drunk! Make poor decisions! Pass out and then regret it in the morning!"

"I think that's more your thing than mine," Kuroda replied as a matter of fact.

Kisuke suddenly burst out into laughter, catching both the attention of Kuroda and Yoruichi.

"You dying over there?" asked Kuroda,

"Hahaha! No," replied Kisuke, wiping a tear from his eye, "it's just fun when the three of us are around."

"Sure is!" agreed Yoruichi, downing another cup of sake, "bartender! Another!"

"I always believed that people got really annoyed wherever the three of us went," muttered Kuroda.

"How could you possibly think that? You're hardly ever around anymore, I think I see snow in Seireitei more than I see you," Yoruichi pointed out,

"Sorry, I've been busy doing…stuff," Kuroda replied rather unconfidentally.

"Stuff? Get yourself a girlfriend have you?" teased Yoruichi,

"At what point did I say that I did?" growled Kuroda,

Kisuke once again burst out into laughter and this time Yoruichi joined in with him. Kuroda just sat in his chair and sulked.

"Nah, Kuroda's never gonna get a girlfriend. He's the type that always buries themselves in their work and never gets out unless his friends drag him."

Kuroda pursed his lips.

"Fair enough," he conceded, taking another sip of his drink.

"But you'll promise won't you?" asked Yoruichi,

"Hmm? Promise what?"

"Promise," started Kisuke, "that you'll always have some time to spend with your friends? To come out here, get teased, listen to our obnoxious jokes, and nurse that same cup of alcohol while me and Yoruichi get drunk?"

Kuroda found himself taken aback by such a request. Where had this all come from? After a moment, Kuroda let out a scoff.

"You're already drunk aren't you?"

Kisuke and Yoruichi simply burst out into uproarious laughter.

"Probably!" said Kisuke, causing the two to laugh out even harder.

Kuroda allowed himself a smirk and eventually let the question Kisuke had ask fade away from his memory.

#

Assassinations were nothing new to the life of Black Operations. But the assassination of a noble man was definitely something rare. Not often was Kuroda called upon to kill someone so well known.

Noblemen after all had a number of things that made them difficult targets.

One was that they had a great deal of money and with that money came defenses.

Defenses such as guards, walls, traps, etc. Things that would be a hazard for any assassin.

Then there was the fact that they seemed to almost never be alone, they were always holding some sort of party or attending some public event. That made doing the assassination tricky, after all no one could know that Kuroda was the killer.

So how did one assassinate someone with impeccable security and admirable defenses, while at the same time ensuring it to be a low key operation when the target was constantly surrounded by other people.

Kuroda's answer was to not come at his target as an assassin.

It was a rather simple matter to replace one of the servants of the manor, the nobleman had so many that there was no way he would have ever noticed one of them suddenly had a different face.

To keep things low key was a bit trickier.

Since the nobleman was constantly surrounded by other people, simply killing the man was out of the question. There'd be no throat slitting unfortunately.

Instead, Kuroda came up with a more time consuming plan.

The nobleman often took tea to soothe his well used throat.

Kuroda dropped into that tea a very special poison made by his mother. It was slow acting but very effective.

A single drop with every cup of tea and the nobleman's health began to visibly worsen. There were some hiccups along the way, when the target shared his tea with others, Kuroda had to dump the whole pot. Having multiple people become deathly ill caused too much suspicion.

But eventually the nobleman died of "natural causes". When he did, Kuroda simply slipped away, leaving the manor just as it was with no one the wiser.

Such was his life

#

Mass murder was nothing new to the life of Black Operations either, but once again it was proven that the target could make all the difference.

Kuroda was incredibly shocked when he had been ordered by Central 46 to eliminate a group of spiritually aware humans. Not Quincy either, regular humans who had somehow banded together under the pretense that they could see and hear both Hollow and Shinigami.

Apparently the leader of the band had taken to ordering his followers to attack both Hollows and Shinigami, wanting to take protection of humanity under human hands.

With their spiritually enhanced abilities the humans had proven themselves to be troublesome. However, as protectors of humanity it was no small thing to order their destruction unless they posed a legitimate security concern.

So far all they had done was harass Shinigami and occasionally get in the way of Hollow extermination. Still, Central 46 felt that the group needed to be eliminated.

Kuroda didn't question his orders, he simply accepted them. He knew that every order given by Central 46 had a good reason behind it. He knew that somehow, his actions would one day find justification.

That's why he tracked them down to their hideout, a warehouse on the edge of the docks.

That's why he killed all of them. Every. Single. One.

The strongest and most spiritually aware came at him first. They thought him just another Shinigami, one that could be overwhelmed with numbers.

Kuroda didn't even have to move his feet. He simply allowed them to come to him and then he scythed them down like grass.

It was so very easy and there was so much blood.

It soon dawned on the humans that they were deal with a being of a far higher existence than any of them could handle. They tried to escape.

Kurodra didn't let them.

He chased every single one of them down.

He slaughtered them without hesitation and without mercy.

He found no pleasure in the killing but neither did he shy away from it. For him it simply was what it was, a part of life.

Eventually he found the last survivor, a woman. He stabbed her through the back, his blade piercing the heart. She died without even a whimper.

Kuroda turned to leave, his mission finished.

Then he noticed a shifting under the body, movement.

Using his foot, he turned the woman over to uncover what she had been protecting.

A child.

A young boy who could not have been any older than twelve.

He was so very innocent, Kuroda could sense that the boy did not even have any spiritual awareness. All he must have seen was some invisible force taking away the life of the people around him.

The boy was soaked in his mother's blood, it covered him from head to toe.

His screams of heart break echoed throughout the streets.

But they never reached Kuroda's heart for it was nothing but ice.

"Kill them all" that had been Kuroda's orders.

"Kill all the humans affiliated with this group" those had been the exact words.

Kuroda let out a small sigh of frustration, then he raised his blade and let it fall.

The child's screams were soon silenced.

#

"You don't have to come out with me" the young girl said for what seemed like the tenth time, "I'm fine doing this on my own."

Kuroda wasn't sure why Mei didn't enjoy being around him. Admittedly he had nearly killed her, but in his eyes that was no reason to be hostile. His own father had nearly killed him multiple times and he had never been this hostile, at least not that he could remember.

"It's a simple mission you know, nothing someone like you needs to come out on," continued Mei, "its just patrol duty."

"Be that as it may, I have quite a bit invested in you. As such I'd rather you not die before my investment bears fruit."

Mei scoffed rudely and continued to march ahead of her escort.

"Its just patrol," she repeated, "nothing bad ever happens on patrol."

"I've heard many people say similar things, they are dead," replied Kuroda with a deadpanned expression.

"Well those people weren't me. I can handle myself, you saw me didn't you? Hollows are no threat to me."

"I'm afraid I don't quite believe that just yet," Kuroda shot back.

"Ha! Suit yourself old man, just don't come whining to me when nothing happens."

Old man? Kuroda knew he wasn't exactly what one would consider a young adult anymore, but he was fairly sure he could not yet be described as "old".

"I'm just trying to make sure that you survive and succeed."

For some reason that sentence made Mei snap.

"You're not my Father!" she said, whipping around and glaring at him with daggers, "you're not responsible for me! You're just some guy who picked me off the street!"

Kuroda, a man who'd killed children without flinching, flinched and took a step back. His face betrayed nothing but inside a small part of him felt the same pain that he had felt when his father had died.

Mei whipped right back around and began to march along her way. Kuroda stood there in the same spot and for a brief moment his senses were blunted. That was enough, that brief moment was enough.

Hollows are not dumb beasts as most people believe, they have working minds. They have the uncontrollable hunger, but even that can be directed with enough will power.

Hollows can have that will power, some are even smart.

They can plan.

Just enough of the planned to attack the next Shinigami that let down their guard.

Go for the bigger one or the smaller one?

The bigger one would sate their appetite for a long time but the smaller one was the easier target.

The smaller one.

In a single black spot appeared before the Shinigami, from out of it stepped a Hollow. Sand from its home still covered its body. It was looking for prey, but instead it would become prey.

Mei saw the Hollow almost immediately and like any other good shinigami she immediately pounced after it. To her surprise the Hollow did not rear to meet her challenge.

Instead it ran away.

"Hey! Get back here!" she yelled, immediately entering pursuit of her target.

Her words snapped Kuroda out of his short lived stupor, "Wait! Stop!"

Of course Mei did not listen, why would she listen?

She did not see how purposeful the Hollow's steps were as she chased it into a forest. She did not see that this was no rabbit running from a predator. It was bait, luring the fish to bite a hook.

Now she was in the forest, separated from her companion.

Now the fish bit the hook.

A dozen black spots appeared around her at once, Mei was in mid step when they came out to attack.

Her remarkable reflexes was the only thing that saved her from dying right away. The first hollow, a snake like creature, came at her from the front. Its massive pearl white jaws snapped at her and she pounced away….right into the waiting jaws of another.

It's teeth nearly severed her in half, but she executed a perfect back flip, bounding over its jaws. Out came her zanpaktou, a flashing blade of purification.

The hollow died quickly.

Another came at her and she cut it down, a stab right through the mask caused it to scream before blowing away into dust.

The third went low, hoping to slip under her guard. Mei reversed the grip on her sword and went straight down, thrusting her weapon through the monster's neck.

The monster died instantly, but though she had struck down three there were still more and now they had closed the distance.

The first blow came from behind, a hollow struck her and she fell. While she did she lost her grip on her weapon. The next blow came from the front, taking advantage of the one from before the hollow threw her to the ground where she lay in pain.

"I want the first bite!" growled one of them,

"You didn't even do any work, hands off!"

They were going to eat her and she was going to die, so she closed her eyes.

Mei always knew she would die, she just wished it wasn't Hollows that were going to do her in. She would have preferred dying at the hands of that old man to Hollows.

"I'm not old"

Mei's eyes suddenly opened.

By the time her vision returned all the Hollow had already become dust.

She had blinked and missed their deaths.

Standing above her was the one she had thought about in her last moments, Kuroda.

"I'll have you know in fact that I'm considered one of the younger Shinigami to hold my position," he continued, completely ignoring the dying Hollow around him. He then stuck out his hand, an offering to help her up.

All at once Mei's rebellion returned, replacing her shock with indignant anger. She slapped the hand away and pushed herself off, dusted off the dirt, and retrieved her weapon

Then she began to resume her patrol.

"I'm not going to thank you," she commented as she passed her rescuer.

Though she did not see it, Kuroda allowed himself a smirk.

"There's no need."

#

After the incident with the Hollow in District 80, after Kuroda had showed her mercy and allowed her to live, Mei had promised herself that she'd never need saving again.

That promise had been broken when Kuroda had saved her yet again while on patrol.

She needed to get stronger, strong enough that she would never need saving ever again. That people would come to her when _they_ needed saving.

She need to get stronger than even Kuroda.

Mei was no fool, no stubborn child that was too ambitious for their own good.

She had no catch phrase or code that she lived by.

She had one goal and one goal only and that was to better herself.

Simple and to the point.

Today was zanjutsu training, Mei went through each drill two dozen times before moving onto the next set.

She practiced a full day at a time, when she wasn't distracted by other work.

From the shadows, her progress was watched by Kuroda. He followed her every movement, tracked the motion of her feet, took note of the swiftness of her blade, and the fluidity of her body.

Before long Mei noticed his presence, but only because he allowed it.

"It's rude to stare," she commented, acting as though she wasn't surprised by his presence.

"I'm just observing," he replied evenly, "trying to gauge how good you are."

"Impressed?" Mei jabbed cockily,

"Disappointed," Kuroda verbally parried.

The young Shinigami nearly missed a step in her routine, she hid it well but in the eyes of a man like Kuroda it was almost painfully obvious.

"I could train you," he offered, "I'm quite at zanjutsu you know, might do you some good to have a teacher."

"Don't need one" she replied immediately.

"Oh?"

"Always been fine by myself, always been my own teacher. I taught myself how to cook scraps, I taught myself how to make a fire from tinder, I taught myself how avoid my neighbors, I taught myself how to fight, and I taught myself how to survive. I don't need you to teach me anything."

Kuroda considered pressing the issue, but in the end decided not to. Deciding that nothing he said would change her mind, he wandered off into the shadows to leave her alone.

#

"Was it worth it?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Was it worth it?" repeated one of the faceless officials of Central 46, "was it worth disobeying orders? Was it worth risking your position as Commander?"

"I'm not quite sure what you are referring to my lord," Kuroda replied cheekily.

"What we are referring to," began another official, "is your disobedience of our orders to liquefy the Zaraki District."

"Your decision," started another, "to leave a single girl alive and then take her under your wing."

"I acted as I felt the situation required," replied Kuroda rather evenly.

"You acted against our orders!" roared another official.

"I never stated that I acted within your orders in the first place, only that I acted on what I believed was a legitimate reason."

"Disrespectful cur! Don't try to sneak your way out of this one!"

"Order! This is a meeting! Not a trial!"

Kuroda smirked despite himself.

"Commander Kuroda Ryou," started the same voice, "despite the…hiccup…in this operation, you have preformed exceedingly well in the past decades. Therefore, we have decided that we shall overlook your blunder….this time."

"Thank you, my lords," said Kuroda as politely as possibly, adding a bow for some extra flair.

"Know however that should you do something liket his again, we shall not be so lenient. Do you understand?"

Kuroda clenched his fists in a silent anger.

"Yes"

#

Most believe that an Arrancar is a rare occurrence.

It is true that it is rare, but not on the level that most believe. It is common enough that Arrancar find each other and begin to live in communities throughout the sandy dunes of Hueco Mundo.

They carve out themselves small homes, built from their shattered masks and the shattered masks of their lesser relatives. The homes are held together by reshi, much like bricks are held together by cement.

Though Arrancar cannot procreate, families are formed amongst them.

Husbands find wives.

Children find parents.

Occasionally a family even adopts a pet.

Being an Arrancar aside, they soon become no different from a family from the world of the living.

But this is something that the Shinigami cannot tolerate.

Of course, people would protest if it were discovered that Central 46 was so brazenly ordering the destruction of peaceful communities.

So no public order is ever given.

Instead, the Black Ops Division is sent in to deal with what Central 46 refers to as "a gathering of creatures".

Kuroda brought with him Rajin and Kaito. He had originally wished to do this alone but they had insisted on sharing the burden.

They slaughtered the community of Arrancar.

It had been so easy.

A few put up a fight, but against the Black Ops Divisoin they quickly fell.

Some tried to run, they didn't get very far.

Some tried to hide, they were soon found.

Some tried to beg, they were all ignored.

They all died.

The men, the women, the children.

All of them were just targets to these three killers. The worst part was when the three had to return home and pretend like nothing was happened.

When they ran into a happy family, not unlike the one they'd just murdered.

It was pain bordering on torture.

Despite his tough exterior, Kaito was the first to crack.

He fell to his knees in the sand, his weapon fell from his grasp. He watched as the fires that they'd set burned down the homes so that no other Arrancar could use them.

He cried as he remembered the family he'd cornered in one such building and how he'd sliced each of them apart.

Rajin was less vocal about his anguish, he silently gripped the handle of his zanpaktou harder than usual. His hands shook, making him create a constant metallic clicking noise.

Kuroda though, he just stared into the fires. His eyes never wavered, his hand never shook.

He never cried.

He just stared on till the fires finally burned out.

#

Once again, Kuroda was wondering how he'd been dragged into the _Golden Koi__**. **_It was somewhat uncanny how Kisuke and Yoruichi managed to get him in here each time.

Once again Kisuke and Yoruichi did all the drinking while Kuroda just nursed the same cup the entire time.

"Come on Kuroda! Live a little! You need to get drunk at least once before you die!" teased Yoruichi.

"I don't think that's actually true," replied Kuroda, taking another sip, "besides, I could be called back to duty at a moments notice."

"Man, I'm glad I don't have your job," Kisuke managed to slurr out, "you work waaaaayyyyy too much. I'd die if I had to do as much as you did."

Kuroda snorted, finding some amusement in the ironic truth of the statement.

"Aw well, guess I'll just have to get drunk for you!" decided Yoruichi, she downed her glass in a single gulp and then called for a refill.

Kuroda treasured these moments away from his work. Though he did not often partake of the festivities like Kisuke and Yoruichi, he found pleasure in simply being involved in them. Even if it was just for the two of them to tease him.

It was a time when he didn't have to be Kuroda Ryou, Commander of the Black Ops anymore. It was a time when he could just be Kuroda, friend to Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihoin.

"I declare that this night shall be finished…with cake!" decided Yoruichi,

"Here here!" Kisuke chimed in.

Kuroda smiled, "I could go for some cake."

It was at that same moment when a courier suddenly appeared and tapped Kuroda on the shoulder.

"Pardon the intrustion sir, but orders have just come in from Central 46"

"Is that so?" said Kuroda, though he already knew the truth. Grabbing his zanpaktou he stood up from his seat.

He turned to his two friends who were looking up at him expectantly. Though they said nothing, Kuroda knew that they wished for him to stay, he could not. But maybe he could finish this mission quickly and come back.

"I'll be wanting a slice of that cake," he smiled,

The two of them smiled back and nodded.

#

Today was Hakuda practice, Mei sparred against an imaginary opponent.

She threw a punch at her opponent's throat. Her punch was blocked so she followed up with a sweeping kick followed by a knee to their stomach.

Another opponent.

This time she started off with a kick, when that was blocked she struck with her other foot and fell onto her back.

She rolled out of the way of a stomp then retaliated with an upwards kick while simultaneously jumping back to her feet.

After Hakuda, Mei spent time trying to communicate with her zanpaktou. She had seen others do it, they sat in front of it with their legs crossed, close their eyes, and did…something.

She tried doing the same as well.

First a minute passed.

Then ten.

Then fifteen.

Then seventeen.

Then eighteen.

Then nineteen.

Then twenty.

"Will you talk to me already?!" she finally exploded. The young Shinigami grabbed her zanpaktou and began to savagely smash it against a wall.

"Why?! Won't?! You?! Talk?! To?! Me?!" she screamed, "Why?! Why?! Why?!"

"Maybe it doesn't like being hit against a wall," said a new voice.

Mei ceased her rampage and turned around to see Kuroda, his eyes resting judgmentally upon her. Her lips immediately turned into a frown and her eyes began to glare daggers at him.

"If you keep treating it like that it may never talk to you."

Mei scoffed and turned away, "I don't need your help."

"OF course not," replied Kuroda cheekily. He then turned to leave, aware that he was not going to get any further with her today than before.

Just as he was about to close the door, Mei spoke.

"Why did you let me live?" she asked. There was no malice in her voice, just genuine curiosity.

Kuroda considered her question for a long moment before finally providing her with an answer.

"I've wondered that myself quite a bit," he admitted to her, "and I think the truth is that, in a way, you remind me of myself."

Kuroda heard Mei take a sharp breath.

"Try finding a place a little more relaxing than your room. You may find that it provides the spirit more incentive to come out."

With that said Kuroda slid the door closed, leaving Mei alone with her thoughts.

#

Of all the orders that Kuroda had been given so far, of all the targets that Central 46 had marked for assassination, this one took the top spot as the worst.

"Could you repeat that?" Kuroda asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"You have heard us correctly, Commander Ryou. You must eliminate the Captain of the 5th Division."

The chamber was dead silent, as though even the officials giving the orders could not believe them. Killing Shinigami was nothing new, but those had always been traitors. Killing someone who was still loyal to Seireitei, a Captain no less, was something that had never been done.

Kuroda knew little about the current Captain of the 5th Division, he knew that the man was well liked by his subordinates. He also knew that quite recently the man had gained quite a bit of attention by openly speaking out against the Soul King.

It was technically not illegal to speak out against the Soul King, though it was definitely advised against. Still, death seemed just a bit extreme for voicing one's opinion.

"Why…why am I being asked to do this?"

"Why? Because the man speaks blasphemy against our great ruler! He speaks out against God! Such things cannot be tolerated! Especially not from a Captain of the Gotei 13," spoke one official.

"But…" Kuroda's words died on his lips,

"We understand your hesitation Commander, but it has been decided. The Captain of the 5th division is sentenced to death. Will you carry out your orders?"

For a moment Kuroda thought about refusing. But then he realized that if not him, then Rajin, and if not Rajin, then Kaitio.

He'd trained a full division of killers just as capable of doing this as he was. The only difference was that he had a higher chance of success.

Then there was Mei, if he refused they might take her away. He didn't want that, he didn't want to lose her.

So through clenched teeth and tightened fists, he spoke his answer.

"Yes"

#

It had been so easy, just like all the others.

The Captain had been sent on a mission to Hueco Mundo, he was ordered to bring some men with him as well. That way it didn't look too suspicious.

Then when they got there, they were to patrol around a bit, find an Arrancar that had been harassing Shinigami lately.

They never found any Arrancar, all they found was Kuroda and AnShen waiting for them.

It had been a brutal yet quick battle.

The men the Captain had brought with him were cut down quickly, the Captain had lived a bit longer. Just a bit.

In the end, he died like any other man, in a pool of his own blood. It had been refreshing in a way, to kill someone who Kuroda couldn't rationalize away as a monster, traitor, or threat. The man's only crime was that he thought differently and for that Kuroda had thrust a sword through his heart.

Justice

That's what it was supposed to be.

The funeral for the Captain was held only a week later.

He had been well loved, there were plenty in attendance. Among them was the Captain's wife and child, a young girl no older than Mei. She looked so innocent, a white light amongst a field of black shadows.

Many were crying

As the casket was brought through the crowd, people tossed flowers in its path. A show of love with a metaphorical meaning.

Kuroda attended as well. It crossed his mind that his presence could be considered an insult but then again no one knew that he was the actual killer, so he stayed.

Eventually the casket reached its destination, when it did, the Captain's wife broke down. All the sadness she had been trying to hold back came rushing out. It was heart breaking to watch, for normal people at least.

For Kuroda, it just seemed to be…there.

Just like the rain was just there.

Just like trees were just there.

Just like he was just there.

"Mommy, why are they putting daddy in the ground?" asked the young daughter, "why are they burying him? He's really busy! He can't work if he's in the ground."

Many more broke down after hearing the child's words.

"I killed him," Kuroda wanted to say, "they're putting him down there, because I killed him."

But just like he had done with his own father, Kuroda kept silent about the truth.

#

Once again Kuroda was called upon to commit mass murder, though this time it had a much simpler title: Genocide.

"It has been agreed upon then!" declared an Official, "the Quincy population has become a threat! We can no longer turn a blind eye to their actions! If this continues on! The stability of the Spiritual Universe will be undone!"

For once Kuroda actually agreed with them.

"Commander Kuroda Ryou of the Black Ops Division, do you accept your orders? Will you destroy the Quincy?"

Kuroda answered immediately, "yes."

At least this time around, Kuroda didn't have to do this alone. He was allowed his entire division's assistance along with quite a few members of the regular divisions. Apparently this was not to be a secret operation.

That was quite refreshing.

Of course, refreshing didn't make the killing any different.

Quincy bled blood just like everyone else.

They died just like everyone else.

Their families screamed and wept, hiding in their homes just like the Arrancar colonies he'd decimated in Hueco Mundo.

They charged bravely at him, not knowing the death that was face before them, just like the humans of the World of the living.

And their deaths brought great sadness to those who still lived, just like the Captain he'd murdered in cold blood.

It was all just a never ending cycle of blood for Kuroda.

Everywhere his shadow touched, blood was bound to run free.

At least it was real, the blood. All of it was very real.

Maybe, Kuroda thought, the only part of his existence that was undoubtedly real was in fact the blood that surrounded him.

The blood, beneath his shadow.

#

Kisuke and Yoruichi drank at the _Golden Koi_ as they always did. But there was no uproarious laughter from them today, no cheering, no teasing.

For the seat that made their party a trio was empty. Kuroda was not there as he usually was.

He gave no reason, no excuse, he simply had not shown up.

Why, they would never know.

They would only know that without him, life did not seem as enjoyable as it had been with him.

Eventually, Yoruichi would leave the bar. She would travel back to her family's manor, she would bathe, and then go to bed.

She would fall to a peaceful sleep with thoughts of Kuroda still on her mind.

And Kuroda for his part would sit at her windowsill and watch her wistfully, wishing that he could tell her why he had not arrived. But in the end, it the truth was too much for him to cough out.

So he just sat there and watched.

At some point he would leave, feeling no better than when he'd arrived.

#

Mei attacked from his right…and was beat to the ground.

Mei attacked from his left…and was beat to the ground.

Mei attacked from above…and was beat to the ground.

Mei even tried to attack from below…she was beaten **into** the ground.

"Good tries, all of them. But you lack experience and your timing could be better," said Kuroda as Mei lay in the grass exhausted.

"Good tries?" she managed through her deep breaths, "I couldn't touch you even once!"

"No, but against any other opponent you would have likely succeeded in more than just touching," assured Kuroda, "don't feel too bad about it, I've been doing this for a much longer time than you have."

"whatever," groaned the young girl, too tired to try to speak any more.

"Hmm, I think we've trained enough today," decided Kuroda, placing AnShen back on his waist.

"Hey," Mei managed to push herself into a sitting position. At first she said nothing as though she were embarrassed, but eventually she managed to blurt out, "do you think I'm getting any better?"

"Oh most definitely," Kuroda replied immediately.

Mei had to fight the growing smirk on her lips.

"How about lunch?"

"Huh?"

"Part of improving yourself is eating right. I'm training you how to fight, I may as well coach you on how to eat right as well."

"Oh…o-okay,"

Kuroda took her to a nice restaurant and allowed her to order as much food as she liked, though he knew she'd never finish it. Still, she tried, she ate heartily and much more than Kuroda had expected.

"I'm pretty sure if you keep eating this much you'll have a hard keeping in shape," he commented as she scarfed down a bowl of fried rice.

"You just want this all to yourself!" she growled, pointing her chopsticks accusingly at him, "well too bad! I'm gonna eat it all! OMNOMNOMNOMNOM!"

"No, really," said Kuroda, "you'll get fat."

"I've seen Yoruichi eat like this!" she shot back between bites, "and all it does is go to her boobs! If eat like this, I bet I'll get big boobs too!"

At the mention of her name, Kuroda suddenly felt a dark shadow descend upon his mood.

"Uh…is something wrong?" asked Mei, noticing the turn in his attitude.

"No," he lied, "everything is fine."

#

When they weren't killing people, the members of the Black Ops division were surprisingly normal.

They ate together, they trained together, and they talked together.

As chance would have it, Kaito and Teruno were lunging in the same area of the barracks. Kaito was busy doing nothing, while Teruno had assumed a meditative position and was silent.

Eventually Kaito, in his infinite boredom decided to ask, "what do you do that for?"

"Excuse me?"

"Meditating, what are you meditating on? Mean of life? I can answer that one for you. For men, the answer to life is simple: women," he proudly stated.

"I am not mediating on such things, I am meditating so that I may better understand and become closer to the Soul King," explained the monk.

"Say what?" asked Kaito, very confused.

"It means that I wish to understand the Soul King as an individual and a God. I wish to try and understand why he created us, why he created the cycle, why he created the Arrancar, why he created the living. By doing so, I feel myself become closer to him."

"So?"

"So that perhaps one day, I will find myself in perfect understanding of the universe and achieve enlightenment."

"Does enlightenment get you women?"

"…I'm not sure,"

"Then I'm not interested."

"You should try to understand our creator better. He is after all the single most powerful being in existence, he created everything. Without him the universe would not even exist. We owe him everything. We owe him life, we owe him peace, we owe him anger, and we owe him pleasure."

"So he's the one who made having sex awesome?"

"Yes…I suppose he is responsible for that as well."

"Heh, must be a pretty cool guy."

"Indeed, should he wish it, existence itself could simply cease."

Outside the door, Kuroda had listened to the conversation of his two subordinates. Quietly, he made his own thoughts, he made his own theories, and eventually he came to ask one question.

"If the Soul King is so powerful, so great, why does he need me to exist?"

#

This would be the fifth time Kuroda had spent the night watching Yoruichi sleep. It made him feel a bit creepy if he was being honest with himself. But at the same time it was one of the few soothing things that helped him get through life at this point.

Looking up at the moon, Kuroda judged that it was time to leave. Giving one last look to the beautiful women below, he pushed the window open and prepared to jump out.

"Done looking?"

Kuroda's hand jumped away from the window and almost set him off balance, he teetered on the sill for a few moments before managing to recover.

"If you like, I can take off the covers and make it more interesting," Kuroda looked down to see a very awake and very amused Yoruichi staring up at him with a Cheshire smile on her lips.

"You were awake?" he asked in disbelief,

"Yup,"

"This whole time?"

"And a few of the other nights, a girl's gotta get her beauty sleep."

"Why didn't you say anything," he asked indignantly.

"Hmmm, well, I feel kinda flattered that I'm what you use to get yourself through the night."

The sentence oozed innuendo, enough for Kuroda to blush and feel a bit embarrassed about.

"I-It's not like that," he assured, "I just…"

As he trailed off, Yoruichi's smile lessened and she could see the sadness behind his eyes. Thinking quickly, she patted the space by her bed, "come down here. Sit by me."

Kuroda obeyed, knowing that arguing with Yoruichi was akin to arguing with a wall, it was pointless. He sat down next to her and she placed her chin on his shoulder to look up at him.

"What's the matter tough guy?" she began, "how come I've got to see you like this instead of at a bar?"

"I've…just been dealing with a lot," he replied, "nothing you need to concern yourself with. Just things that I've got on my mind."

"I guess I can understand that. Still, I wish I could see you more often, you're never around, you never write, don't even have the courtesy of snuggling up to me while I'm asleep."

"Heh," Kuroda chuckled, "what are you? My wife?"

That made Yoruichi smile as private thoughts were entertained in her head.

"Yoruichi," began Kuroda, "have you ever met the Soul King?"

"The Soul King? No, that'd be ridiculous! No one ever sees the Soul King," she replied, a bit taken aback.

"Then how do they know he exists?"

Yoruichi thought about it for a moment and eventually just replied with shrug.

That gave him more of an answer than she ever could have known.

#

"Have you or have you not?"

"Why are you asking such outlandish things?" Yamamoto shot back, "you have been acting quite strange recently Kuroda Ryou and now you come to me asking if I have ever met the Soul King, I begin to worry."

"Just answer the damn question," spat Kuroda.

"It does not matter if I have ever seen him or not," replied Yamamoto, "all that matters is my duty to him, **our** duty to him. We uphold his order, that is all there is to it."

"So you just blindly follow the wishes of a ruler you've never met? When did we allow ourselves to be blinded by faith? Do we not have minds?" asked Kuroda, "are we not free beings? Able to think for ourselves?"

"Careful Commander, your words border on treason," warned the older Shinigami.

"I've shed oceans! Oceans of blood for the Soul King! I've committed genocide at the orders of his appointed officials! I've killed colleagues! Cut down children! CHILDREN! I've given my life! My SOUL to a King that I've never even laid eyes upon!" Kuroda's voice roared, "I think if anyone is owed a meeting with this Soul King, then it is me!"

"He owes you, nothing," Yamamoto answered adamantly.

Kuroda clenched his teeth. Without another word he whipped around and kicked the door open, before he stepped out he spoke one last sentence.

"I don't accept that."

#

It was dinner time and Kuroda was enjoying it with Mei.

As usual, she did most of the eating and he did a lot of thinking. His relationship with the young girl had improved considerably as of late.

They took meals together, they trained together, they even talked casually to one another every now and then. It was as though she were part of his family.

"Is something bothering you?" she asked, taking a breather from inhaling her food.

"No," he replied immediately,

"You're lying," she frowned, "I can tell when you're lying."

"only if I'm not trying to cover it up," he assured her.

"What's going on?"

Kuroda didn't respond, he only looked solemnly out the window. Mei's frown grew, she hated it when he was all mopey like this. It brought down her mood too and she hated when that happened.

"Hey," she tried, "can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?"

"Am I legally under your care?"

"Yes"

"So…does that legally make me your…daughter?"

"No," Kuroda paused for a moment before asking, "do you want to be?"

"Uh…well," Mei was caught off guard, she nervously poked her food, "I mean…I guess….it wouldn't be such a terrible thing. I might even like it."

Kuroda smiled for the first time since they'd sat down, he suddenly reached over the table. Mei thought he was doing another one of his surprise attacks and prepared to flip the table over on him.

But instead his hand reached down on to her head and began to ruffle her hair affectionately.

"Maybe later, when I get back."

"When you get back? Are you going on a mission?"

"Yeah, something like that."

#

Kuroda did not go to Yoruichi that night.

He stayed outside and stared at her mansion from afar, knowing that this could be the last time he saw it. He wanted to see her, but knew that if he did, she might cause him to waver from his course. Kuroda could not allow that.

So he walked away, never turning back to face the mansion.

Inside, Yoruichi waited patiently for her friend to come in.

But he never did.

#

A pair of massive gates, made of pure Sekkiseki, were tossed apart.

Those inside were horrified, for those had not been just any pair of doors. Those had been the gates into the Spirit Palace, the domain of the Soul King. Never had they been flung open so brazenly and never without the Soul King's express permission.

But here they were, lying on the white marble floor as though they were but a common door.

The Palace guard, the souls who had died pure and were granted immediate access to the Spirit Palace, rushed to meet the intruder. They were oath sworn to never let any enemy near the Soul King and they would not fail in this mission.

The Palace Guard formed three lines, each containing two dozen men.

From out of the gates, came a single intruder.

At first the Palace Guard could not even comprehend what they were seeing. A single intruder had tossed those gates open? Impossible!

That brief moment of disbelief cost each of those guards their lives. In a single moment they all hit the floor, their blood staining the pure white stone beneath their feet.

They died as all did, in a pool of their own life.

The intruder pressed further inside and the Palace guard flocked to meet him. They charged, passionate about their duty to protect the Soul King.

But they were no match for this intruder.

He slaughtered them expertly and without hesitation.

Never before had so many of their number died, never had they been so utterly overpowered.

"This is what I fought for?" asked the intruder, kicking the corpse of a guard with contempt.

Suddenly a low bellow of a horn echoed throughout the Palace, catching the attention of the intruder. Though he had never heard it before in his life, he knew exactly what it was.

It was the summoning of the Zero Divisoin, the Royal Guard.

The most powerful beings, selected to be the personal protectors of the Soul King. They had been summoned to deal with the intruder.

They would undoubtedly deal with him.

#

Another gate, this time to the Royal Wing, the very center of the Spirit Palace itself had been breached. From out of the dust two bodies were flung, both bearing the signature of the Zero Division.

The intruder stepped through, his body damaged from the fighting, but his resolve no less as strong as it had been from before. He had fought these two members of the Royal Guard and he had found them lacking.

More of them showed up to imede his progress.

"Intruder! Identify yourself!" ordered one of them.

"Kuroda Ryou," he stated, "Commander of Seireitei's Black Ops Division."

A murmur spread amongst the remaining Royal Guard. A Shinigami? The Commander of Black Ops? Here? Why was he attacking them?

"Surrender!" ordered another, "and your life may be spared!"

Kuroda's answer was to charge forward.

#

"Execution! He must be executed!" A cry of agreement came to the Central 46 Official's declaration, "we cannot let such…such rebellion happen without consequence. There is only one punishment suitable enough for such a heinous crime! Death!"

Another cry of agreement washed over the gather Officials.

"Hold! Hold!" cried another, "the accused is one of our most useful assets! He has done many a service for us! To lose him would be a great blow against the Seireitei!"

A cry of agreement came for the opposing argument.

"It matters not!" shot back a new voice, "he tried to attack our King! He must be executed!"

"No! We will lose a valuable agent!"

"Take into account his service!"

"Death is the only answer!"

"We must think of this rationally!"

The debate to decide the fate of Kuroda Ryou, Commander of the Black Ops, raged on for many days.

In the end, it was his friend Kisuke who came up with the solution. He revealed to Central 46 that he had designed for Kuroda, seals that held back his more psychotic and blood thirsty personalities. Personalities that had arisen from the constant strain of his assignments.

He proposed that he modify these seals so that they not only held back his more destructive feelings but also his resentment towards the Soul King and the world.

The idea was discussed and eventually accepted.

A compromise.

And so Kuroda lived to kill another day.

#

**Present Time**

"NO! I WILL NOT LET IT END HERE!"

AnShen, his beloved tool for dealing death, had been shoved right into his gut. Kuroda could appreciate irony, but he could also appreciate revenge. Time for it to happen.

Life coursed through his dying veins, his hand lashed out and grabbed AnShen by the base of its blade. Without a hint of pain or hesitation, he tore it out of his chest.

Tyran, who had the closest and clearest view on what was happening, was shocked.

On his bicep, the third seal, the one that held back the worst of Kuroda, finally broke. When it did, it let out a sound that could be heard by all who knew what it signified.

An absolutely massive geyser of reiatsu unleashed itself around Kuroda's body. The buildings and streets caught up in it, simply ceased to exist. It was so dense and darkly powerful that even Tyran, the Cero Espada, was forced to retreat or be suffocated by its power.

Every single combatant put a pause on their fighting to stare at the red pillar of howling souls that had appeared in the middle of their battlefield.

A terrible power had been unleashed back into the world and soon everyone would know its wrath.

The geyser of reiatsu did eventually fade, though it left in its wake a massive gaping hole in the ground, so deep none could see the bottom.

Hanging above it, in the middle of the air, was Kuroda.

He held AnShen, that crimson terrible blade, in his hand once more. The wound on his chest that once threatened his life was now gone, healed over as though it never existed.

Kuroda opened his eyes, his real eyes.

They were cold, unfeeling, belonging to a man who saw no light in the world.

Even Tyran felt a small shiver as those terrible eyes scanned over him.

Kuroda ran his eyes over the entire battlefield, counting off how many victims could be in his immediate vicinity and which ones he could save for later. He then looked down at AnShen, his sword, the weapon with which he would use to fulfill his design.

He raised it up and gave it a casual swing.

As soon as he did, a massive trench was dug through the ground beneath the combatants. It stretched all the way from one end of the town to the other and caused the ground and the buildings around it to simply sink down a full level lower towards the core of the earth.

Even worse, the walls of the barrier surrounding the fake town had cracked.

Despite the results, Kuroda scowled with dissatisfaction.

"Impressive," said Tyran, reminding the Shinigami that he existed, "I'm gladdened to see that you are not yet out of the fight. I would have been very disappointed if you had died without unleashing your full strength. Now let us begin our real battle! The true battle to end all doubts and show everyone who truly is the most powerful-"

Kuroda was suddenly in front of the Espada, his hand had been balled into a fist, his fist had been cocked back to deliver a punch. It had all happened so fast, Tyran hadn't even blinked. Kuroda had just suddenly appeared right in front of him.

The Cero Espada, the most powerful being in Aizen's army, could do nothing as Kuroda's fist shot forward and struck him right in the chest.

Tyran was sent tumbling through the air uncontrollably, he smashed through streets and buildings, kicking up rubble and dust all along the way. He screamed as he tried to stop himself but failed, eventually he stopped bunt only because he finally found the edge of the town.

There he lay in a crumpbled heap of pain, with nearly every bone in his body now shattered.

"I-Impossible," he managed to cough out along with some blood.

Kuroda, from far away, scoffed at the now fallen Arrancar.

"I can't believe I ever had so much trouble with that insect," he muttered.

"Most interesting" whispered Aizen from far away. Like many things, Aizen had always been aware of Kuroda's condition. But to see it first hand was something else, he had defeated Tyran in his resurrection without even using his blade.

Pehaps Aizen could turn this to his own advantage, his mind began to go to work creating scenarios with which to turn Kuroda on the remaining forces of Soul Society. Dozens of plans were created in a span of seconds, many of them would involve speaking to the man.

A smile touched Aizen's lips, coercing using words had always been a favored method with Aizen. He enjoyed bending other beings to his will without even having to use force. It was an indicator of his superior mind and status amongst the trash and refuse.

Then Kuroda turned his eyes upon Aizen.

Once calm they were now livid with anger.

If there was one thing that all of Kuroda's personalities could agree on, it was that they hated Aizen with a burning passion.

The man was a snake among snakes, he slithered slyly through the world, poisoning all that he touched. The world would be better off without such a man skulking around in its shadows.

He needed to die.

Here

Now

Using shunpo, Kuroda transported himself to a closer distance between himself and his target. Aizen knew that Kuroda would not attack him just yet, so he allowed it. After all, he was confident in his ability to defeat Kuroda should the need arise.

"Hello Kuroda, we meet again."

Kuroda's reply was simply to scowl.

"It seems that you have finally regained your full power, fitting that you stand before me now with it. Yet, yours is but a fraction of what I have achieved."

"Is that so?" asked Kuroda, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

Aizen yanked at his robes to reveal his chest, or rather, what was inside of his chest. Kuroda recognized it immediately, that damn glowing orb that Kisuke had created many years ago. The Hogyoku, the object of Aizen's fixation.

It had embedded itself into Aizen's chest.

"I have become one with the Hogyoku," continued Aizen, "I have achieved a state of being far above yours. But fear not, for there is a place in my new world for ones such as yourself, ones who see the folly of the Soul King."

Aizen stretched out his hand.

"Join me Kuroda, together we shall-"

"Do you ever shut up?" Kuroda finally asked, tired of hearing the snake's hissing, "can you not keep that forked tongue back behind your teeth?"

Aizen frowned, his original enthusiasm for converting Kuroda was beginning to vanish as was his confidence in his own ability to do so. Some people were simply stubborn, he should have expected Kuroda to be one such person.

"I am here to kill you, Aizen. I am here to wipe you off the face of this world. For while I share your sentiment that the Soul King is a mistake, I do not want to make a new world."

"Oh? Then what do you want?"

"It is something someone like you would never understand, as such I shall not waste my breath," answered Kuroda.

"Hmph," Aizen smirked, "I see, and how do you intend to kill me? With the Hogyoku having accepted me as its master, I am now above the mortal plane that you exist on. I cannot be killed."

"By unleashing death itself," replied Kuroda. He raised AnShen before him and pointed it at his target, "It has been a long time since I have met one so worthy of mine and AnShen's full wrath. But now with you and the world before me, I see no reason to hold back. Feel honored Aizen, for once again you shall know something that few others do."

"And that will be?"

"What true death is."

Kuroda held up AnShen an inch from his face, his zanpaktou understood what was soon to happen and had become absolutely giddy with joy. Soon everyone would have a small taste of the Apocalypse.

Swirling souls began to ooze out from the ground beneath Karakura, gathering around Kuroda as they heard the call of their master. Up above dark clouds blocked out the sun as though understanding the doom that was about to come.

Even the air itself seemed to become chilled. Not a natural cold like one created by ice or snow, but one so deep and terrible that it caused the very soul to shiver.

Every single person in Fake Karakura could feel it.

Something terrible was about to be unleashed and if nothing stopped it, they'd all be doomed.

Then Kuroda spoke the words,

"**Godan No Dankai: MoKuShi"**

Power exploded out from Kuroda's body, the souls that had come to his call began to smother him with their presence. They surrounded him, wrapping him, fusing into his body.

Every soul was someone who had once lived but had died of some cause. Their wails were a constant cry out for help that would never come.

They gave unto Kuroda, the power of their death.

More and more souls came, their terrible wailing could now be heard throughout the entire town. It was such a horrid noise that some clapped their hands upon their ears to try and block it out.

Others who did not, felt their feet freeze to where they stood. This terrible feeling caused even the strongest amongst them to feel as though they would soon leave this life.

Soon there were so many souls wrapping themselves around Kuroda that he had been completely obscured from view. They were a hurricane of death, swirling around like a red legion of the dead, of those slaughtered by a single man.

But then that hurricane began to die down, it began to become smaller, to contact until it was nothing more than a sphere of pure red.

Then it flattened itself, appearing like a lake of blood in the middle of the air.

A hand burst out from that lake, splashing the red substance everywhere. That hand found a hold upon the thick surface and dragged out of the lake, a head and a body.

Kuroda emerged out from the lake of blood like some demonic specter, ready to devour those around him.

His appearance had changed drastically, though not in the way one would have thought.

While his first and second stage had caused Kuroda to become more impressive each time, this fifth stage did the exact opposite.

His long red coat, though still bearing the same patterns and symbols, had definitely been more impressive than as it was now. The entire thing looked haggard and aged, its sleeves were torn, allowing the cuffs to wispily float in the wind and its bottom was sliced up, allowing for long sections of cloth to flow freely.

Kuroda's shirt which he had worn under the coat was now missing, leaving his chest bear and revealing the plethora of scars that it had hidden.

His trousers had been similarly ripped and torn up as his coat and his feet were bare, relieved of the shoes he wore before.

But the most jarring difference wasn't his clothes, it was what else was on him.

Blood, Kuroda was soaked from head to toe in blood. It clung to his skin like a parasite, staining his skin like a brand. It marked him for what he was a murderer of untold numbers.

A monster, so soaked in the blood of his enemies that he would never be cleansed of it.

Even as dozens of drops fell to the ground far below the blood remained.

In all Kuroda looked as though he'd been through some great battle rather than a reborn warrior. But even though he'd lost his armor and wings, Kuroda stood tall. There was a different kind of menacing surrounding him. A sense that this was no longer a man or warrior that had taken the stage, but something far worse.

Something cold yet feral.

Something more akin to a force of nature.

Aizen, to his own surprise, felt it just as much as everyone else.

Shaking it off as best as he could, Aizen replaced his signature arrogant smirk back onto his lips.

"How very unimpressive," he began, "I was hoping for so much more. But fear not, your death will be quick. I shall not make you-"

"Clench your teeth"

In a single moment, Aizen's entire world become nothing but pain. A red flash passed over his eyes as the pain engulfed him.

First it passed into his legs and then it was gone.

Then it was in his left arm and then that too was gone.

Afterwards he could feel it around his waist and then that was gone too.

Then for some reason the world became very dark.

He tried to move his left arm but found that he couldn't. He tried to move his legs and found that they would not respond either. He tried to twist his body and found that his waist would not respond to his commands.

Aizen attempted to turn his neck and try and dislodge whatever was covering his eyes. But no matter where he seemed to turn his head, he saw nothing but unending darkness.

He couldn't understand, what was going on? What power had Kuroda employed against him?

Kuroda watched from above as Aizen struggled against what his mind simply could not comprehend. Some time ago he might have felt pity for the man, but right now he felt nothing. The only thing that mattered was that Aizen had survived his first attack, though the word survived may have been a bit strong of a word.

Everything that had been below Aizen's stomach had simply disappeared.

His legs, his thighs, his waist, all of it was gone, destroyed in the initial attack. The man's left arm was also gone, turned to dust along with a good deal of his chest.

The man's eyes had not survived either, they'd been destroyed. A good thing, Aizen most likely did not want to see what was left of his now mangled face and body. The skin had all been scarred, leaving it ugly and twisted.

What surprised Kuroda was that Aizen's right arm was still there and that his jaw somehow had remained attached to the rest of his head. It seemed even in this state Aizen would not shut up.

Right now he was screaming out to his Arrancar and Tosen to come to his aid. It was slightly amusing, listening to such an arrogant being cry out for help.

The man must have been in terrible shock, his mind so geared towards his own greatness that it was unable to comprehend that he'd been beaten so easily.

It was almost enough to make Kuroda laugh. Later perhaps, right now he needed to finish the job.

"You will not touch him!" a blonde female Arrancar suddenly appeared in his path. In her right hand she wielded a massive tooth shaped weapon. Kuroda immediately recognized her as Aizen's Trecera Espada.

Behind her Tosen appeared, his head completely covered in what looked like a Vizard's hollow mask. How very fascinating, Aizen must have spent some time perfecting the hollowfication process and performing it on his trusted lieutenants.

Behind Tosen appeared another Arrancar. This one a male with long brown hair, clothed in a heavy white coat and wielding what appeared to be a pair of pistols. Judging by what he sensed Kuroda judged him to be the Primera Espada.

Then behind the Primera was another Arrancar. A skinny and strange looking being that looked as though he'd been hit too many times on the head. Kuroda recalled him from before, when some of the Arrancar had been sent to Karakura as a distraction from another kidnapping Orihime.

They all moved against him with great speed, yet he had taken the time to make sure he knew who he was about to kill.

First was the Trecera, the female Espada. She swung that massive weapon of hers at Kuroda's neck, most likely hoping to decapitate him. Any other opponent would have had to block that strike, allowing the others behind her to dog pile the target and overwhelm them.

But for Kuroda, the weapon never even began its swing.

With a flick of his wrist, his crimson blade sliced through the Arrancar's exposed midriff.

A moment later, Tia Halibel realized she was dead and she fell apart into two pieces.

By then, Kuroda had already passed her.

Tosen, fully hollowfied, provided more of a challenge. His speed was great and his aim very precise. He made a thrust at Kuroda's center of mass. A solid strategy for any opponent, but irrelevant for Kuroda.

In the mood for a bit of irony, Kuroda lifted AnShen and thrust straight at the man's eyes. He died as soon as AnShen slipped into his brain.

Tosen's body went limp and Kuroda walked right on through.

By then the Primera had raised both of his guns and was beginning to fire a volley of Cero. Kuroda decided to just cut off the Arrancar's head and so he did.

Moving on to the strange one.

Kuroda just didn't like him, he got the feeling that if had fought this thing in his previous state, he would have found it incredibly annoying.

So he thrust his sword into its heart and continued on.

A full ten seconds had passed.

As soon as the eleventh came around, four more bodies fell to the ground below.

Kuroda didn't even feel like acknowledging their bravery in the face of overwhelming power. Instead, he just floated down to where Aizen was still squirming around on his little stubs.

"Where are all of you?!" he screamed, "your master is calling for you! Tia! Starkk! Tosen! Wonderweiss! Where are you?!"

"They are dead," answered Kuroda, causing Aizen to freeze up, "and they died so very slowly. You on the other hand will die very quickly as I cannot stand another second of your infuriating voice."

"The Hogyoku shall protect me!" declared Aizen, "I am its master! It shall save me! It will give me the power to-"

Whatever Aizen was going to say turned into a gurgle as Kuroda shoved his blade into the man's throat, killing his ability to speak. Amazingly enough the man managed to still live on and continue his rant, though it all came out as a wet bubbly noise.

Somehow Kuroda found that even more annoying than Aizen actually talking.

"You need to die now," he decided.

Kuroda took AnShen in both hands and raised it high above his head, preparing to plunge the weapon down.

The Hogyoku glowed brilliantly as it worked hard to repair Aizen's lost limbs and tissue, it had already impressively repaired Aizen's lower torso and was moving on to his legs.

Kuroda would not allow it to get any further.

He began to gather his reiatsu into AnShen, oceans of red power, more than he ever could have managed in his previous states was poured into the weapon. It soon became so much that the ground beneath them began to crack from the pure spiritual weight being placed into a single spot.

"I am superior!" declared Aizen, his throat now repaired, "I will destroy you Kuroda Ryou! I will tear you limb from limb! I will-"

"Die" Kuroda plunged AnShen down, aiming straight for the Hogyoku in the center of the man's chest.

A moment later an absolutely massive explosion detonated, with the center being at Aizen and Kuroda's positon.

Those that were still alive had to shield themselves or be engulfed by the incoming shockwave. Those who were not of a Captain level literally had to hide behind those who were, else they were tossed through the buildings like leaves in the wind.

When it was all over, the entire town had been flattened. Not a single building over a single story had been left standing, save the towers that held Fake Karakura in place.

A massive column of smoke rose up form where the explosion had originated. From out of that smoke, a single figure walked out.

It was Kuroda and as he walked out, he raised up his left hand.

In it, he held the head of Sosuke Aizen.

Contemptuously he tossed away like a piece of trash, though he took care to throw it in the general direction of Yamamoto.

Yamamoto for his part, fixed Kuroda with a hard stare.

Stinking of death, smoke, and blood, Kuroda's lips formed into a smirk upon seeing the elderly Commander, though it was one of amusement and not happiness.

"So this is what Seireitei has fallen to in my long absence," began Kuroda, his eyes moving over the battered remains of the Gotei 13 and Vizard forces. He chuckled, "is this what happened when I was not around? Traitors remain hidden amongst your own ranks, unfound and running rampant. Threatening the very existence of the world itself."

He turned his eyes back upon Yamamoto, "if the Shinigami could not prevent even Aizen from nearly opening the gates of Armageddon, then it is clear to me that Soul Society has not yet reached the point where they do not need a person such as myself. Truly sad Yamamoto, that you would stoop as low as to ask for someone such as myself to come back, were you truly so desperate?"

Yamamoto remained silent, his glare never wavering as Kuroda continued on.

"I see before myself, a gathering of failures. I see only justification for what I want: the end of the cycle of existence and the worlds themselves. Nothing shall stop the apocalypse this time Yamamoto, I failed once, but shall not fail again."

"Do not do this Kuroda," Yamamoto finally warned, "do not take this step into the darkness"

"I'm already in the darkness!" Kuroda roared, pointing his blade at the Captain Commander, "and it was you and those vermin in Central 46 that put me there. I will end, all of it! All suffering, all tragedy, and even the Soul King himself! All of it!"

Kuroda lowered AnShen, "when a fire rages out of control and begins to burn its way through everything, the only way to stop it, is by destroying everything around it that has not already been burnt down. Just like that fire, I seek to end the spread of this plague called existence. The creation of more beings like myself, may yet be prevented."

"Time was your ally, Old man. But now it has abandoned you. The Bloody Shadow, has returned."

**End**

**A/N**

**Yup, I'm back.**

**So yes it's been a while, I know I said I'd be updating more regularly. I was going to but recently I ran into some hardware problems and I had to get that all sorted out.**

**But yeah, been waiting to do this chapter for a while.**

**You all probably hate me quite a bit now.**

**Kuroda is in fact turning into the villain of the story.**

**I know, I'm horrible aren't I? I gave you all a small hope that maybe Kuroda could finally be happy and be with Yoruichi, then I just yank it away mercilessly.**

**This marks the shift from the canon Bleach story to my own real story.**

**Also yes, I did make Kuroda skip 2 levels of his Bankai.**

**I hope you all stick with me for the rest of the ride, till next time!**

**Bye Bye!**

**"**Godan No Dankai: MoKuShi" - Fifth Stage: Apocalypse****


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Second Battle of Fake Karakura – Part 1

"The Bloody Shadow, has returned"

Kuroda's declaration hung in the air.

Yamamoto, who had been mostly silent while Kuroda had delivered his ultimatum, clenched his zanpaktou tightly. He remembered well, what the Bloody Shadow had done so long ago. He remembered the horror, the death.

It had been a catastrophe of unprecedented level, one that he wished never to be repeated ever again.

Though they had not always seen eye to eye, Yamamoto had always held a soft spot for Kuroda. There had been a time when he too, as Captain Commander, had doubted their duty to the Soul King. But he had had others to pull him back to the light.

Kuroda, whether it was due to his own isolation or the ignorance of others, had no one to bring him back.

He was steeped in the darkness now and there was no way to pull him out.

Yamamoto knew that he would hate himself for what had to be done.

As Captain Commander, he had to kill Kuroda.

"Forgive me," whispered Yamamoto as his hand reached for the handle of his weapon.

Kuroda smirked smugly, this had been a long time coming.

"**Reduce all creation to ash: Ryuujin Jakka!"**

Yamamoto unsheathed his zanpaktou and swung out a massive wave of fire all in a single fluid movement that defied his age.

Any normal opponent would have been immediately burned alive, but Kuroda was no normal opponent. He was the Bloody Shadow and he stood against the inferno with a smile as it simply washed over him, the flames so close to touching his skin unable to burn him.

When the wave passed away, he stood unsinged. Not a single hair on his head had been burned, the blood that stained his skin was just as moist as it had been before.

"You still hold back Old man," taunted Kuroda, "this will not be like last time."

The Bloody Shadow raised AnShen up, displaying it for Yamamoto to see.

"Only once every century does AnShen allow its full power to be accessed by its wielder, last time I only opened the first gate and you barely held your own."

"That, is not how I remember it," Yamamoto shot back,

"Allow me to refresh your faltering memory."

To the eyes of on lookers, Kuroda was in one place and then he wasn't. Then suddenly he was right in front of Yamamoto, his sword held up high in one hand. It bristled with power, blood red swirls surrounding the blade like he was a wielding a vortex.

Only Yamamoto had seen every step.

He raised his fiery blade just in time to block Kuroda's strike.

The resulting clash of power was awe inspiring. Torrents of fire mixed with oceans of blood red power, if there had been anything left of the city after Kuroda had killed Aizen, it now joined the rest in the rubble.

Yamamoto held back Kuroda's attack though he had been caught off guard by its sheer power. Then out of nowhere, Kuroda's curled fist shot out at the Commander's face.

The Captain-Commander was sent reeling back, his feet digging hard into the 'ground' as he tried to recover.

"Impossible," whispered Captain Hitsugaya as he watched on from afar, "the Captain-Commander was pushed back?"

"Old man Yama!" Shunsui cried out.

Kuroda let out a snort, "I missed."

At the last moment, Yamamoto had thrown up his arm and blocked the strike, Kuroda considered that a miss despite having sent the elderly Shinigami skidding backwards.

"You still hold back," said Kuroda, "you cannot stand against me unless you release your Bankai."

Yamamoto did not respond, instead he simply lowered his arm and resumed his stance.

"You will die," reminded Kuroda, "and without even presenting a challenge."

Yamamoto still remained silent.

Kuroda scoffed, "fine, have it your way."

Once again with great speed Kuroda burst forward, taking the offensive. AnShen bristled with power, once again cloaking itself with bloody red swirls of power to match Ryuujin Jakka's flames.

Kuroda struck out with a horizontal slash, Yamamoto parried the strike and brought his blade up over his head. He countered, bringing Ryuujin Jakka down, its flames burning brightly, upon Kuroda.

Kuroda blocked the strike at the last moment, his power countering the Captain-Commander's flames and keeping him safe from harm.

Seeing an opening, Kuroda lashed out at the elderly Shinigami's exposed stomach. His foot collided with Yamamoto's body and sent him reeling back.

As his opponent staggered, Kuroda gathered his power into AnShen and held it above his head for a vertical strike.

Blood red reiatsu wrapped itself around the blade, gathering itself and becoming an extension of AnShen. Before long the reiatsu had reached the height of a two story building.

With enough of his power poured into the blade, Kuroda swung his sword down and unleashed it upon his opponent.

With incredibly speed it reached Yamamoto, the Captain-Commander had but a moment to throw up a shield of flames. But it did not detonate as most would have expected from Kuroda's usual attacks, instead it began to move.

It began to wrap itself around Yamamoto's circular shield and as it moved, it began to take form. Slowly but surely it began to take the shape of a massive serpent

A mouth full of razor sharp teeth, demonic bone like spines jutting out of its back, black pits instead of eyes, and blood red scales. The apparition was terrifying on its own, but to add to its intimidation factor, each scale on its body contained the face of a soul crying out in agony, begging for help that they would never receive.

The serpent slammed its grotesque head into the wall of flame surrounding its prey.

With Kuroda's mental direction it managed to break through the wall, to say Yamamoto was surprised was putting it lightly. It had been a long time since his power had been so easily breached.

The serpent lunged forward, transforming back into formless power as it did. The once animated attack struck Yamamoto dead on, sending him burst out of his own shield of flames.

He tried to stand his ground as the serpents body dispersed upon him like a flood of bloody water, with every drop the power tore away at his skin. Pain flowed through his body like it never had in a very long time.

Just as the last drop of power was spent and the Captain-Commander thought the onslaught over, Kuroda suddenly appeared before him. The Bloody Shadow swung his sword at Yamamoto's head.

The Captain Commander was forced to jump back, out of the reach of that deadly sword.

Had he just been a fraction of a second faster he may have avoided it entirely, instead AnShen managed to cut a thin line across the Shinigami's chest.

Kuroda had struck first blood, but he did not let that small victory stop his assault.

He continued to press his attack, striking again and again. Yamamoto had been forced onto the defensive, it wasn't that he didn't want to attack, he simply couldn't. Kuroda's blade was just too vicious, too precise.

At his current level of power Yamamoto just couldn't give himself enough breathing room.

He swung Ryuujin Jakka, Kuroda dodged under both the blade and the fire, then retaliated with his own strike, which Yamamoto was forced to dodge. Kuroda would press in, striking again and again, Yamamoto blocked each strike but each one led Kuroda closer to scoring another hit.

Using shupo to put considerable distance between the two, Yamamoto gathered fire upon his sword and unleashed another wave of it at Kuroda.

The Bloody Shadow wrapped his power around AnShen and charged right at the fire. He sliced his weapon through the flames, his own power dispersing them like a great red wind.

The danger having passed, Kuroda charged forward, intent on bringing down the full power of his sword onto Yamamoto personally this time around.

With incredible speed Yamamoto gathered more flame onto Ryuujin Jakka until even those far away could feel the heat.

He too charged forward, intent on meeting Kuroda's attack with his own.

As soon as they were within range, the two swung their weapon at each other. Yamamoto's flames mixed with Kuroda's bloody red reiatsu. The two struggled against each other for a time, locked in a contest of strength.

Kuroda poured more of his power into AnShen and Yamamoto gathered more flames around Ryuujin Jakka.

Eventually the struggle reached its climax.

From atop a pile of rubble, Captain of the 2nd division Soi Fon watched the battle with the clenched fist of her remaining arm.

"Did the Captain-Commander win?" she asked aloud in a hushed voice.

From out of the smoke of the resulting explosion between fire and blood, a figure came falling out.

The Captain's squinted their eyes then widened them.

Yamamoto was the one coming out of the smoke, he'd been forced to jump away while Kuroda had stood his ground.

"I've said it once and I'll say it again," spoke Kuroda as he calmly walked out form the smoke, "without your Bankai, you cannot hope to stand against me."

Yamamoto had suffered damage in his exchange with Kuroda. Several new gashes decorated his already heavily scarred body and he had been burned by the Bloody Shadow's reiatsu in multiple areas.

Yet still he refused to unleash his Bankai.

Kuroda wondered why but in the end decided that he didn't care, with Yamamoto dead, the list of people with the strength to oppose him diminished.

He would kill the Old man, then move on to the rest of his plan.

"If you will not fight with your Bankai. Then you, will, die!"

With blinding speed Kuroda moved forward, faster than ever before. Yamamoto's eyes widened, even he had had trouble following Kuroda's steps that time.

Suddenly Kuroda was in front of him, he raised Ryuujin Jakka up and blocked the first strike. Kuroda followed with another attack, this time swinging from his hip, up at his target.

Yamamoto blocked the attack, Kuroda used the rebound to reposition AnShen up at eye level and swing horizontally at his opponent's head.

Once again Yamamoto managed to deflect the attack just before it struck him, AnShen skid against the length of Ryuujin Jakka before breaking off. Kuroda used the momentum of his failed attack to spin himself a full 360 degrees.

Using the spin he came around for another horizontal swing, Yamamoto saw this and once again parried, then riposted by thrusting Ryuujin Jakka forward.

Kuroda threw up a shield of his reiatsu to block the flames, then retaliated. He used AnShen to deflect Ryuujin Jakka and get in close to the Captain Commander.

When he was close enough, his free hand shot out and grabbed the Old man by the throat. He had planned on driving his opponent in the ground, but Yamamoto was a master of hand to hand combat. Before Kuroda could enact his plan, Yamamoto trapped the man's outstretched arm inside of his elbow.

If Yamamoto were to twist his arm just a bit, he could break Kuroda's arm.

Thinking quickly, Kuroda took advantage of his position and landed a light strike on Yamamoto's throat, not enough to actually harm but enough to allow him to slip out of the Captain-Commander's grasp.

Now Kuroda was at an advantage, without hesitating he grabbed Yamamoto's free arm by the wrist. He raised AnShen high up into the air, then brought it down.

To his credit, Yamamoto did not give any hint of pain.

He just pulled away as the blade creased down his whoulder.

Kuroda smiled, "it seems you are now at an even further disadvantage. Though I suppose if you survive you can simply have Orihime reattach it."

"I have only lost the use of one arm boy, I only need the use of the other to fight," Yamamoto shot back. Indeed, AnShen had severed nearly all the muscle keeping Yamamoto's arm and shoulder attached to the rest of his body. Now it only hung by a few meager strands of meat.

"Hmmm, an admirable statement, but ultimately you show yourself to be unable to defend yourself or Soul Society," replied Kuroda, 'I've grown bored of fighting you now Old man. If you will not release your Bankai then I will simply slay you here and now. I care not that you die fairly, only that you do."

Kuroda raised AnShen and once again began wrapping it with his reiatsu, "prepare yourself."

Suddenly Kuroda felt a presence at his backside, he swung around to meet it. A resounding clang of metal on metal echoed out as Kurdoa threw up AnShen to block a last minute stab.

"My my, you're causing all sorts of trouble right now Kuroda. Guess some things never change huh?"

"Shunsui, you're in my way. It would be wise of you to step aside," growled Kuroda as he pushed away the Captain.

"Sorry Kuroda, but I can't let you hurt Old man Yamamoto any more than you have. I'd never forgive myself."

"You seem very able to forgive yourself for being the distraction to another surprise attack," Kuroda casually raised his free left hand. A moment later he caught an incoming strike by the attacker's wrist.

A golden dagger attached to his attacker's finger, stopped just inches away from his skin.

"An admirable attempt from the Captain of the 2nd Division," he grinned, looking up at Soi Fon's frustrated features.

"Damn you Kuroda," she growled as he tightened his grip on her.

"Are you actually mad at me? Or are you pretending so that I won't notice Captain Hitsugaya and Komamrua?"

A shadow descended upon the two of them. Kuroda didn't need to look up to know that the massive sword of Captain Komamura's Bankai was descending down upon him. He didn't need to look to the side to know that Captain Hitsugaya was preparing to incase him in ice so that he wouldn't be able to run away.

He didn't need to do anything really, but he chose to anyway.

With the same blinding speed he'd fought Yamamoto with, Kuroda released his grip on Soi Fon's wrist only to deliver an open palmed strike to her chest.

That alone contained enough force to send her flipping head over heels away from him uncontrollably.

Next was Komamura's descending sword.

He gave a quick swing of AnShen upwards with enough force to cut the blade off at its hilt, though he never touched it.

Then there was Captain Hitsugaya, the young Captain had sent a blast of ice at him. It had been intended to freeze him in place so that the other Captains could finish him off with their combined attacks.

A solid strategy, but futile.

Kuroda gathered a small amount of power into his AnShen then sent it rolling towards the incoming wave of ice.

Komamura's sword fell harmlessly among the rubble.

Hitsugaya's ice was destroyed and soon after Kuroda's attack struck him as well, knocking him from the skies and sending the already injured Captain to the ground.

"You all move so slowly to me," whispered Kuroda, "I admire your courage Captains, but fleas have no right to interfere in the affairs of lions."

"RAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

It seemed that despite losing his weapon, Komamura had not quite given up. Courageous, if a bit predictable.

The massive titan that Komamura controlled had dropped its now useless weapon in favor of simply beating Kuroda down with its fists. The Bloody Shadow simply stepped a bit to the side and allowed the slow moving fist to miss him completely.

He then gathered up some more power into his sword and sent it at the titan. When it struck, the titan's armor crumbled, along with its owner.

Just as Kuroda was about to turn back to his fight with Yamamoto he once again sensed the familiar presence of the Captain of the 8th Division. With a sigh he threw up his defense, blocking the rather insultingly casual attack.

"Enough Shunsui, you cannot beat me."

"I don't know, maybe I'll get a lucky hit in," tried Shunsui in his usual lackluster attitude.

"You've always been lucky Shunsui," conceded Kuroda, "and if I'm being honest, you're one of the few beings in this world whom I've never truly wished ill will."

"Why thank you, I've always thought of myself as an agreeable guy."

"But I will not allow you to stand in my path. If you impede me, you will die." It wasn't a threat, it was simply fact.

Shunsui gave Kuroda a good natured smile, "sorry my friend. But just like you have to follow your path, I have to follow mine. If you want me out of your way, you're going to have to fight me yourself."

Kuroda let out a heavy sigh, "no, I won't"

Kuroda reversed his grip on AnShen and held it out in front of him before stabbing it into the 'ground', just as he had done while in the second stage of his Bankai. Just like that time a red pool began to ooze out onto the 'ground' around AnShen.

Familiar with this technique, Shunsui readied himself to fight multiple opponents, "summoning your doggies again?"

Kuroda smirked, "you wish."

From out of the pool burst a hand, a completely human hand. Just like Kuroda had done before, the hand dragged its owner out from the pool of blood that was its birth place.

What came out was not what Shunsui was expecting.

He had been expecting some sort of horrible demonic creature, with festering burnt skin, three eyes, a tail, razor sharp teeth, maybe even four arms.

Instead, he was given…a cowgirl?

At least, that's what it looked like.

The figure before Shunsui was definitely human, a woman to be precise, and a very beautiful one. She was dressed, strangely enough, in a manner similar to that which he had seen in Old Western movies from America.

She wore a pair of long trousers with batwing chaps as well as some sturdy looking cowboy boots. For her torso she wore nothing but an old western styled vest that seemed to accentuate her enviable cleavage and exposed her midriff.

On her head was an honest to god, real, cowboy hat.

The woman herself was of a slightly darker complexion, indicating what Shunsui guessed was Native American descent. Her hair had been cut into a short brown bob that seemed to be both fashionable and functional.

In her gloved hands, she carried what appeared to be an old Winchester repeating rifle, just like from Cowboy movies. Though unlike the movies, this rifle was painted white and silver instead of the traditional gold and chestnut.

Shunsui was a bit perplexed at first, then he gave the woman another good look over and a realization dawned upon him.

Kuroda had somehow summoned a Quincy.

All of her clothing was white and detailed with light blue trim, which was a bit of a giveaway. Also her clothing contained the distinctive Quincy cross that had been affiliated with the species before their genocide.

But why was one here?

Shunsui looked closer and soon figured that out too. Using his Shinigami senses, the Captain of the 8th detected faint traces of Kuroda's reiatsu emanating from her.

Given the nature of Kuroda's zanpaktou, it wasn't hard to connect one dot to the other.

"Well now," began Shunsui, "that just isn't fair. Summoning a beautiful lady from the dead to fight me? You're aiming for my biggest weakness."

"You figured it out then?" asked Kuroda,

"She's one of them isn't she," said Shunsui, his tone turning grave, "one of those that you've killed."

Kuroda's silence was all the answer Shunsui needed.

"Is that the guy you need me to kill?" asked the woman, speaking up for the first time. Her voice was somehow both rebellious and sultry at the same time, Shunsui had to admit that he kind of liked it.

"Yes, Wicapi, he is your target," he answered,

"Hmph, doesn't look like much. I thought I asked for tough targets whenever you summoned me. You gave it to me real hard when we met, the least you could do for a girl is give her what she wants afterwards."

Kuroda pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation; that had sounded wrong and could have been taken in a very different way then was meant. He had forgotten how laced with innuendo her speech could be.

"Just take care of him," he ordered,

Wicapi shrugged her shoulders, "you're the boss."

With practiced speed and fluidity, Wicapi dropped to one knee, shouldered her rifle, and took aim at Shunsui.

The Captain of the 8th didn't know how powerful a shot from that weapon could be and he certainly didn't want to find out.

Just as he was deciding which way to move, Wicapi pulled the trigger on her rifle. A bright blue concentrated blast of reshi shot out from the barrel, the shot flew true and would have pierced Shunsui through the eye had he not jumped to the side at the last second.

Before he could think about counter attacking Wicapi pumped the lever of her rifle, loading in a new round, sighted her target, and fired.

Shunsui moved as quickly as possible, trying his best to keep out of the way of those incredibly accurate shots. By the tenth shot he had deduced that he wouldn't be able to wait for her to run out of ammo, which meant that he needed to find a new method of getting in close.

In a flash of Shunpo, the Captain of the 8th dodged the latest round fired at him. He then appeared right in front of his gun toting opponent.

He struck out with his larger sword, hoping that this resurrected Quincy was not as adept in close quarters combat.

But then she too disappeared and his blade hit nothing but air.

Caught off guard, Shunsui nearly took a shot in the back. Instead the Quincy blasted a hole right through his robes.

"Hey now, I like this thing! Don't go blowing holes in it!" he protested,

"If you don't' want it ruined don't wear it into battle," Wicapi replied before firing another shot at him.

This Quincy woman was a deadly shot, her skill with the weapon was incredible. Each shot came just short of hitting Shunsui, had he not been so light on his feet he would have been taken down long ago.

Worse, he could tell that she was starting to see the pattern in his moves. Her shots were getting closer and closer.

His theory was only further cemented when as he exited Shunpo, he came out to see the end of her barrel aimed right at his forehead.

"Gotchya," she smiled and pulled the trigger,

Katen Kyokotsu, Shunsui's zanpaktou came up. The smaller blade batted aside the gun, causing the shot to just barely miss Shunsui's face.

Then the bigger one came up, he swung it aiming for her neck. Shunsui didn't consider himself a brutal combatant, but he had to end this quickly and a decapitation seemed like a good way to do it.

Unfortunately, he underestimated the resourcefulness of his opponent.

With a blur of movement, Wicapi's free hand went down to her waist. Shunsui's eyes followed her hand and quickly realized his folly.

In his concentration on her rifle, he'd failed to see the pair of revolver handguns dangling in the holsters on her waist.

Her hand whipped one of them out with lightning like movements. Not a moment later she had the gun pointed right at his eye.

Shunsui quickly ducked into Shunpo, escaping a shot that would have undoubtedly cost him his eye and possibly his entire head.

"That's called a quick draw," explained Wicapi.

Shunsui reappeared a distance away from her.

"You really are like an old Cowboy movie," he commented casually,

"You're surprisingly calm for someone who just barely avoided death," she noted, "feeling confident?"

"No, just trying to wrap my head around the fact that I'm fighting someone who has already died. Tell, how does that work?"

"Hmmm, I'm not sure on the details myself. Kuroda's never really bothered to tell me, but you were right before. He's the one who killed me, jammed his sword right in to me from behind."

From afar Kuroda, who could hear their conversation, pinched the bridge of his nose again.

"Heh, he does seem to have thing for darker skinned beauties," joked Shunsui, "how did you two meet?"

"I fought him, when he butchered my kind long ago. I fought in the war between Shinigami and Quincy, though I suppose calling it a war is generous. It was a slaughter, genocide, and Kuroda Ryou was a name well feared amongst my people," Wicapi's eyes narrowed as remembered her past.

#

_Wicapi Flash Back_

_Arrows flew from the army clothed in white_

_Swords flashed in the hands of the army clothed in black_

_The black army was far more numerous, they had the advantage. But the white army was fighting to protect their very survival as a species. _

_For whatever reason, the Shinigami had decided to simply slaughter the Quincy._

_Peace had been tried at first, but whatever envoys the Quincy sent to the opposing side was simply cut down. Most of them by a single man, the leader of this genocide: Kuroda Ryou._

_His name was one spoken in fear amongst the Quincy population._

_He was a ruthless Commander, one that had cut down many of them himself._

_His reputation was monstrous as was the reputation of his terrible crimson blade, stained such a color from the countless Quincy that he had slaughtered._

_This village was one of the few still left standing._

_The defenders were fighting for every inch of territory._

_Arrow after arrow flew out from their Quincy bows, many Shinigami were shot down or injured by their relentless and precise archery._

_But one amongst the Quincy stood out above all. One whose skill lay not with a bow, but a gun._

_Amongst both the Shinigami and the Shinigami she was known by many titles. _

_The Arashiyama Sniper, a full platoon of Shinigami from Divisons 11, 13, and 6 had gone into Japan's Arashiyama forest to hunt a band of Quincy that had tried to take refugee inside, of the thick foliage. The entire platoon had been wiped out by a single unseen combatant from an incredible distance away, a sniper. Truth is, she had never actually been part of the battle, because she had been firing her rifle nearly 1000 yards away._

_The Quincy Quick Draw Artist, had been earned in a single battle, or more accurately a single slaughter. An entire four platoons of Shinigami, equaling about eighty in total, had rushed into the field to reinforce a failing position. Along the way they had been met with a single Quincy. The only survivor was a mortally wounded lieutenant who had described the engagement as being filled with the sound of thunder. When asked how long the battle had lasted, he replied: "three seconds". He soon died of his injuries afterwards._

_She herself preferred to be known as The Spirit Huntress, for that's what she was. A huntress, a woman who took it upon herself to track and hunt down the most powerful prey she could._

_In this particular battle, she had taken a perch upon a nearby tree. No need for long range shots this time around, in a battle like this it was more important to take out as many enemies as possible in the shortest amount of time._

_Her rifle began to go to work, Shinigami after Shinigami was cut down by her shots. None that she set her sights on lived very long after._

_Soon her rifles sights settled on a particular Shinigami who looked like he was some sort of Commander. She could tell by the 'in charge' way he held himself and the orders he was giving to those around him. He'd make a fine target._

_Placing the man's head along the barrel of her rifle, she sucked in her breath, took aim, and fired._

_Suddenly all Wicapi could see was a bloody red shadow pass over her vision. When it was gone, the Shinigami she'd been firing at was missing. Was he dead?_

"_So you are the Arashiyama Sniper? Forgive me if I am surprised by your appearance,"_

_Wicapi nearly fell out of her tree in surprise. She whipped around, bringing her rifle up. In a single second she sighted the same Shinigami she'd just shot at and fired again. Once again he disappeared, this time he announced his presence by pressing his cold red blade against her neck._

"_If killing from a distance is all you can do, I'm afraid this will be a disappointing fight," he whispered into her ear._

_But Wicapi did not feel fear, no, she felt exhilaration course through her veins._

_She licked her lips, "don't worry."_

_Her hand dropped to the revolver at her waist, "it'll be good for you too."_

_#_

"I of course lost our battle, as you can probably guess from my current predicament," she gestured to herself, "and here I am. Now trapped as his servant."

"How interesting," commented Shunsui, "but I wonder, why you in particular? Kuroda fought many powerful Quincy during the war and, not to be impolite, but you don't seem to be the most powerful amongst them. You're attacks are fairly straight forward, all you've been doing so far is shoot at me."

Wicapi snorted contemptuously, "Really? Well, from what Kuroda tells me, I was one of the best he's ever had. And I don't seem that strong? I don't think that I've shown you everything I've got."

Once again with speed and fluidity, the Quincy once again sighted down Shunsui.

The Captain tensed his leg muscles, prepared to dodge once again.

Predictably she fired and as always it was with great accuracy but once again Shunsui managed to dodge the shot with little difficulty. So then why was Wicapi smiling?

Shunsui noticed the difference in the round she'd fired almost too late, quickly he pushed off his left foot and bounced away as the white ball of concentrated reishi came at him again.

It whizzed passed his eyes, just barely missing the tip of his nose. It flew for some distance in a single direction before abruptly performing a one eighty to come right back at him again.

"A homing shot?" Shunsui's legs went into overtime as he tried to stay ahead of the deadly round.

"But there's more!" Wicapi called out mockingly. The crack of her rifle sounded of off, three more times. Suddenly there were four of the persistent little balls of reishi coming at Shunsui.

They were fast and just as accurate as any other bullet fired from Wicapi's weapon.

"How's about some more?"

"Really would prefer not!" Shunsui called back,

This time the Spirit Huntres fired four more of the homing shots. Now eight flying bullets were chasing after the Captain of the 8th, keeping him on his toes and unable to find a break.

Kyoraku knew that he had to find a way to get these things off his back and fast, it was time for a bit of experimentation.

Shunsui dived for the ground towards a pile of loose rubble, once he reached it he used his foot to kick some of the debris into the path of the bullets. This would answer the question: did they disappear on impact or would they just when they hit their target?

The balls of reishi broke right through the rubble and kept coming at him. That answered that question, but Shunsui had noticed that the rounds that had hit the rubble had decreased in size, if only by a little bit.

Interesting

As he once again began evading his pursuers, Shunsui slowed his pace slightly, purposefully allowing one of the bullets to get in close.

This time when it pounced at him he struck it aside with Katen Kyokotsu. The ball of reishi split in half and kept going passed Kyoraku only to later strike and destroy what was left of a house.

So they could be destroyed.

Knowing this, Shunsui took his stance and held his ground.

The bullets converged upon the Captain.

At first he was still, then he was a blur of movement. His twin blades working in prefect unison, he spun, he twisted, he slashed apart the bullets one after another until finally all of them had been placed out of existence.

"Now…where is that lovely lady with the gun?" he asked aloud,

"Right here."

Kyoraku whipped around just in time to see that Wicapi had placed her rifle into its sheath strapped on her back and was now holding two revolvers, one each hand. With blinding speed both guns were up, Shunsui immediately pushed off his foot in the opposite direction.

An endless symphony of the loud heavy reports of her pistols filled the air as the Quincy fired them at her target with an almost unreal speed and precision.

Shunsui, who had just been in a battle with a similar gun toting opponent, found himself feeling a vauge sense of déjà vu. This woman's onslaught of shots was comparable to Coyote Starrk's _Cero Metralleta_ and Shunsui had never actually beaten that attack, Ukitake had.

Didn't help that these revolvers seemed to have an endless supply of ammo either, Shunsui felt like that was just cheating.

"You'd best start paying attention Captain," suddenly Wicapi was at his right, both pistols aimed at his head, "else you're gonna find yourself full of holes."

The constant sound of her pistol's reports filled the air once again. Shunsui found himself back peddling like made and even having to use Katen Kyokotsu to block a few of the shots he couldn't avoid.

Big mistake.

As Shunsui blocked another of the shots with his larger blade, he heard the unmistakable sound of metal cracking. It only took him a moment to realize that the sound was coming from his blade.

Thinking quickly, Shunsui called upon the power of his zanpaktou.

"**Bushogoma"**

The Shinigami Captain rotated with both of his blades facing in opposite directions, creating a miniature cyclone of large windblades that scattered the remaining incoming shots fired by his enemy.

Wicapi saw the attack too late, but instead of knocking her away like she expected, the wind blades enveloped her inside of a miniature tornado. Other than that it did not harm her, not directly at least. Her vision was now obscured and for a gunwoman like herself that was a huge disadvantage.

But she had other senses to use, senses that told her that her opponent was about to appear above her right about…now!

Throwing her barrels to the sky, Wicapi saw her enemy's unmistakable form high above her, both blades ready to swing down.

"**Takaoni"**

By then the wind blades surrounding her had disappeared, Wicapi quickly pushed off her foot and shot away from the Captain's deadly blades. A she did she caught a glance of his larger blade and took notice of the web of cracks now decorating it near the tip.

A smile cracked onto her lips.

"I see your blade has touched my shots a few too many times," she taunted,

"Attacking such a charming blade as my Katen Kyokotsu, your quite the trouble making little minx," Shunsui jabbed back.

"Hardly, it's your own damn fault for trying to deflect my shots. We Quincy understood the spiritual make up of objects far better than you Shinigami ever could. Reishi manipulation is our specialty. My bullets don't just hit targets with concentrated reishi, they literally warp the spiritual makeup of whatever I shoot. Keep trying to block my shots and see how long those precious swords of yours hold up!"

Wicapi began to let loose another barrage of shots, though this time it was she who was back peddling away and Shunsui the one in pursuit.

He expertly weaved and dodged each one of her numerous rounds.

"**Bushogoma!"**

Shunsui rotated himself again, sending out another cyclone of wind blades. This time Wicapi was ready for it, she dove downwards toward the ground and landed on the remains of some building's roof.

The Spirit Huntress leveled her twin revolvers at her incoming target. Suddenly he disappeared from sight but she could sense where he was heading.

He reappeared right behind her, then, much to her confusion, he thrust his smaller blade down at leg of her shadow.

"**Kageoni"**

The blade sank down into her shadow, Wicapi's reflexes saved her leg as she saw the shadow blade burst out of the ground at the last second. She jumped back up into the air, letting her shadow disappear.

What kind of strange power did this man possess?

So far there had been next to no consistency with what he'd thrown at her.

"Trying to figure out what's going on?" asked Shunsui, "since you're a lady, I'll be gentlemanly and tell you. My Katen Kyokotsu's power is to make children's game reality. She makes the rules that we play with, everyone playing has to obey them."

"A game huh?" Wicapi raised an eyebrow with interest, "am I to assume then that you also have to follow the rules?"

"But of course, wouldn't be much a game if one of us didn't follow Katen Kyokotsu's rules," smiled Shunsui, "with **Kageoni** the one who stands on the other's shadow wins. With **Takeoni**, the one who is higher up is the victor."

"How very interesting, I don't think I've ever fought someone like you," the smile on Wicapi lips widened, "alright then, I'll play your little games. But I should warn you, I hate to lose."

"Excellent, so, what shall we play next?" asked Shunsui rhetorically, "how about…**Irooni**, **Blue**."

Shunsui suddenly went on the offensive. He disappeared in a flash of Shunpo only to reappear right in front of the gunslinger.

He struck out with his smaller blade first, forcing Wicapi to back off. But then he followed up with a quick thrust with his larger blade, using the greater length to his advantage.

Wicapi's response was to fire off a quick shot from her right pistol, aiming for the blade instead of the wielder. The shot did what she wanted, it caused the blade to bounce back and send the web of cracks even further down its length.

But Shunsui quickly shifted forward and sent a low thrust at her.

She sidestepped and down came the larger blade.

The Spirit Huntress ducked down, the sword just missing her hat. But now she had found herself in a rather awkward crouched position, giving Shunsui the opening he needed to send a kick towards her chest.

At the last moment she threw up her arms in an X and blocked the strike but was sent skidding. Wicapi dug the heels of her boots into the 'ground', bringing her slide to a stop.

But as she looked back up she found that the Shinigami had already closed the distance between the two of them. She saw the smaller blade coming forward, aiming for her gut.

In an effort to lessen the damage, she pushed off her toe. But even then it seemed like she would be the first to receive injury.

The blade dug in through her coat and into the flesh.

Wicapi landed back on the 'ground'. Strange the wound didn't feel all that deep, there was pain but not as much as she would have thought. But she had been certain that he had thrust with enough force to punch right through her stomach.

Was this part of the rules?

It was just then that she noticed the Captain was not pressing his attack.

"Well, it's your turn," he called out, "name a color!"

Name a color? Was this the game?

Wicapi looked down at her wound, then at the Captain, then back to her wound. Before he had started attack, he had called out the color blue. He had hit her jacket on the blue trim, but the only blue he was wearing was his hair band, which was basically none at all.

Ah…so that was it.

Without warning, Wicapi used the Quincy high speed movement: _Hirenkyaku_ to suddenly disappear. This caught Shunsui off guard, as up till now she had used no such technique in her movements. She then reappeared crouch down right in front of him.

"**White"**

Shunsui's eyes widened as he realized she'd figured out the game.

Quick to respond Shunsui chopped down with his larger blade, up came Wicapi's right pistol. Surprisingly to the Captain of the 8th, she managed to catch his weapon in the nook where her revolver's barrel and trigger guard.

Using his shock to her advantage she pushed the blade away, leaving his wide open to her left handed pistol whip strike across his face which hit him with force that defied her effeminate build and sent him spinning.

She too spun, though on her own volition, and followed up her pistol whip strike with a 360 spin hook kick that dug the heel of her boot right into Shunsui's cheek, causing him to spin even more.

Of course, since his skin wasn't pure white, the damage of her strikes was minimal. But that was okay, it was still her turn, and those strikes had just been a set up.

As the Shinigami Captain spun, Wicapi poured more reshi into her weapons.

As soon as his back faced her with his white haori in full view, she opened fire. With the extra reshi filled into her revolver's cylinders the power of her shots had become doubly increased. She fired once, twice, three times.

The first shot tactically struck the Captain in the right shoulder, the second hit him in the left shoulder, the third went in the dead center of his back.

Wacapi then suddenly holstered both of her revolver, then in a single fluid movement she unslung her rifle, pumped the lever open, sank extra reishi into the weapon, pulled the lever closed, sighted down her target, and pulled the trigger.

A concentrated round shot out from the rifle, enough to punch a hole the size of a wagon wheel through the Captain. But at the last moment, Shunsui whipped around and exposed his chest to the shot.

It struck him, the resulting bright light from the explosion was near blinding though the radius was relatively small.

Shunsui came flying out of the blast, falling from the sky and landing in a pile of rubble.

"Ow," he managed to strain out as he struggled to push himself out.

Then he heard the _chk-chk _of Wicapi pumping the lever of her rifle. He looked up to see the barrel of her gun pointed down at him.

She was floating just a bit over the ground and she'd taken care to make sure her shadow fell behind her instead of in front. Precautions against **Kageoni "Takaoni"**, she was smart, deadly, and quick to adapt.

Why was it that he always got all the tough ones?

"It's been fun Shinigami, but the big boss wants you dead now, and what the big boss wants he gets."

At this point Shunsui could have said anything: "Stop!" or maybe "Don't do it!"

Possibly he could be witty and say "as long as it's a beautiful woman like you."

Instead he simply opted to sigh and shrug.

But Shunsui would not die today, because the Spirit Huntress leveling a gun at his forehead was suddenly sent flying by a blur of white, black, and yellow.

"What the hell are you doing," growled a familiar voice.

Shunsui looked up and was surprised to see the very angry face of Soi Fon, Captain of the 2nd Division and Commander of the Onmitsukido forces. She'd just delivered a kick right to Wicapi's face and sent her barreling through the wreckage of the town and basically saved Shunsui.

"Come on!" she yelled, grabbing him by his collar and pulled him up to her face, "get up! We've still got a fight to win!"

"Well, actually I'm really injured…maybe you could-"

"Are you a man or aren't you?" she interrupted, shaking him back and forth, "I'm missing an arm! Do you see me whining about it?"

"But I've got really sensitive-"

Soi Fon pinched his nose

"Ow ow ow ow ow!" he cried out,

"You will stand and fight!" she commanded, she then turned to her rear, "Omaeda! Omaeda you fat slob! Get out here!"

The Lieutenant of the 2nd division, still shivering from all the terrifying things that had happened around him recently, peeked out form his cover in a wrecked convenience store.

"B-but C-captain, I really don't think I'll be of any help aginst-"

"Shut up! We're down to our last legs here! We need all the bodies on the battlefield we can get, even useless slobbering idiotic meat shields like you!"

"What?! Captain! That's too harsh! I've been helping out a little bit!"

"Name one enemy you defeated today," she challenged,

"Uh…well…there was that one…."

"That's what I thought, now get out here and help me get Captain Kyoraku back on his feet."

"Y-yes, Captain," Omaeda finally managed to spit out, defeated. He cautiously tip toed out of his cover and over to the two Captains.

"Uh…actually, I think I'm fine on my own," said Shunsui as he finally managed to stand back up. He then looked over at Soi Fon, "weren't you punched and sent flying?"

"Yes, but I used Shunko to absorb the strike, I was still injured however and needed to recover. I figured that you'd be alright on your own, I never imagined that you'd almost lose."

"Actually, I was just about to escape and bring out my Bankai, but thanks anyway."

Soi Fon sighed.

"So…can I go back to hiding?" asked Omaeda,

"No! We need to-"

"Stay down for your own good," spoke a new voice.

All three of the Shinigami looked up to see Kuroda, blood dripping from his stained body, hovering over the earth not too far away.

The two Captains tensed, Omaeda dropped to his knees and began to bite his nails.

"You should have stayed down Soi Fon, it would have meant much less pain on your part."

"Ha! And miss the chance to take you on?" she asked, bringing up Suzumebachi, "no, as the Captain of the 2nd Division and Commander of the Onmitsukido, I can't pass up the chance to take on the Commander of Black Ops. The Onmitsukido was in charge of black operations before your division came around and since then there has always been rivalry. It is time to put that rivalry to rest!"

"Says the girl who's dating the Lieutenant of Black Ops."

Soi Fon blushed, clearly embarrassed, "t-that's beside the point!"

"No, it isn't, it really isn't," Kuroda replied evenly.

"Omaeda! Prepare to attack!"

"Um…m-maybe I could sit this one out?" suggested the Lieutenant,

Kuroda narrowed his eyes on the fat Shinigami. Omaeda saw this and immediately dropped to his knees and begged.

"Please sir! Please don't kill me! I'm really rich, I can pay you! I could also give you some free tips on how to be almost as handsome as me!"

"Wicapi, silence the fat one."

The crack of a rifle shot rang out in the air and the next moment a blue bolt of concentrated reishi struck the sniveling lieutenant right in the eye.

Omaeda's fat body hit the ground with an audible thud.

"Omaeda!" Soi Fon called to her lieutenant,

"Jeez, that Captain hits hard for such a little thing," said Wicapi, rifle resting on her shoulder while she nursed her jaw.

"You bitch!" growled Soi Fon upon seeing Omaeda's killer.

"Wait Soi Fon!" Shunsui grabbed the Captain of the 2nd by her collar just as she prepared to attack, "we can't just charge in."

Soi Fon bared her teeth but it was clear that Shunsui's words reached her as she halted her charge, albeit reluctantly.

"There's two of them now," noted Wicapi rather casually. She took a moment to scan over them before saying, "I can take them."

"Just do it quickly," ordered Kuroda.

"Maybe you can take two, but how about seven?" asked a new voice.

Kuroda and his summoned Quincy turned to see five new figures flanking them from behind. The Bloody Shadow knew who they were before he even turned to face them.

"Shinji."

"Yeah, fancy that huh?"

Kuroda scanned the gathered Vizard before him. Shinji a former Captain of the 5th Division, Rose the former Captain of the 3rd Division, Love the former Captain of the 7th Division, Hiyori the former Lieutenant of the 12th Division, and Lisa the former Lieutenant of the 8th Division.

"I thought you all hated Soul Society," stated Kuroda as a matter of fact.

"We do and don't get me wrong, but killing Shinigami? That's going a little too far Kuroda," replied Shinji, "if you keep going at this, we're going to have to stop you."

Kuroda snorted, he was hardly surprised.

This was going to be annoying.

"Why must you all test my patience?"

Without expecting an answer, Kuroda reversed the grip on AnShen and plunged it into the ground. As from before a dark red pool of thick blood like liquid began to develop around the blade.

The Vizard and two Captains tensed, ready for anything…or so they thought.

Once the pool had become big enough, a hand shot out from the blood and just Wicapi from before, this hand pulled its owner out onto the surface.

This time it was a man, the moment his head was above the blood he let out a deep gasp as though he'd been holding his breath.

Once he took a few gasps of the fresh air, he pulled the rest of himself out of the blood.

All eyes widened as they saw that this man wore a black Shihakusho, identifying him as a Shinigami. Worse, the man also wore what was unmistakably a white Haori.

But the biggest shock came when all present saw the number on his back, identifying what division he had belonged to: zero.

Kuroda had summoned a member of the Royal Guard.

**End**

**A/N**

**Alright! We've got another chapter out for all you wonderful people to read. A little less happened in this chapter story wise but I figured I should give you a few actions scenes after allowing Kuroda to basically steamroll over what remained of the Arrancar forces.**

**So yes, Kuroda has the ability to call upon those he has killed. Now before you guys say "oh my gosh that's so OP!"**

**One, Kuroda's whole character right now is meant to be kind of OP. Don't worry it won't last long, if there was no one in the universe that could stand up to him it would stupid, how do you think he lost last time he tried to end the world?**

**Two, don't worry, there is a limit to who he can summon. I'll reveal it in the next chapter.**

**Three, Yamamoto was only on the ropes for this chapter because he was in Shikai. Kuroda was in full on Bankai with his FULL power. In a battle of equals, not using your full power is like a death sentence, even for someone like Yamamoto.**

**Anyway, yeah, I have now revealed to all of you my first Quincy OC. I thought her up ever since the recent Arc in the manga came out, since Quincy are ranged fighters a gunslinger just seemed natural to me.**

**I'll expand a little bit more on her later, just for now know this: she's sexy, she deadly, and she'll provide more than a few moments of humor in chapters to come.**

**Also yes, I killed Omaeda. Why? Because starting with this chapter, people are going to die. I mean really, good guys will die! There will be none of that miraculous recovery crap, people will die!**

**I think that's it for now, next chapter we'll get to see the Royal Guard OC that I sorta made. You'll see what I mean.**

**Remember to leave a review to tell me what you think, hearing your guys support really is helpful. Then hit the favorite and follow button to keep up to date on all the latest chapters.**

**Bye Bye!**

**Wicapi Wakan in the Dakota language means: Holy star, kinda fits with the overall theme that the Quincy species seems to be built around.**


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Second Battle of Fake Karakura – Part 2

Silence filled the air as a new chess piece took the board and it was only broken when the same chess piece spoke.

His voice was weathered, showing the weight of many years placed upon his shoulders.

"So you've finally summoned me back into the living hmm?' he spoke, his words slow yet at the same time deliberate, "and to fight Shinigami no less, don't you have any consideration?"

"Will that be a problem, Miyamoto Mitsurugi?"

Shunsui, who was by far the oldest amongst those still able to fight, felt a jolt of shock shoot up his spine upon hearing that name.

"Miyamoto Mitsurugi?" he whispered to himself, "can it really be him?"

"Captain Kyoraku, do you recognize him?" asked Soi Fon,

#

"Oi, am I seeing things right?" asked Rose, "someone tell me I took a blow too hard to the head or something."

"I wish I could," replied Love, "but that would mean I've taken a blow to the head too."

"Sorry to break it to ya, but you're seeing right," said Shinji as he himself stared at the white hoari, "that's the symbol of the Zero Division, the Royal Guard."

"Why is a Royal Guard here?" asked Lisa, "surely not one of them is involved in Kuroda's madness as well."

"All I know is if he's our enemy, we're gonna have one hell of a fight on our hands."

#

"Miyamoto Mitsurugi," whispered Shunsui, "I've heard of him before, one of the eldest members of the Royal Guard. He was before even my time."

"What do you know of his abilities?"

"Only that he was very strong. In fact, he was the youngest person in all of Soul Society's history to be accepted into the Royal Guard."

"Then we're dealing with a prodigy?"

"Not so much a prodigy as a legend," replied Shunsui, "but if he's here at Kuroda's beck and call then that can only mean….ah, I see."

"Captain Kyoraku?"

"Old man Yama told me that Kuroda had once tangled with the Royal Guard, but he never told me the outcome of the fight. I guess I know the answer now."

#

"No," replied Miyamoto, "it will not be a problem."

Kuroda eyed the former Royal Guard, it was an odd feeling seeing someone he'd killed standing before him now.

Miyamoto Mitsurugi had been a member of the Royal Guard that Kuroda had personally slain during his assault on heaven, the only one he'd managed to take down.

The personal protectors of the Soul King had a well earned reputation and the power to back it up. Among the Royal Guard, three in particular stood above the others.

Miyamoto Mitsurugi had been one of those three, the bottom of the trio but even that was a great something amongst their ranks.

The other two had been the ones responsible for Kuroda's previous defeat, something he still felt a certain amount of bitterness about.

But they were not here now and Miyamoto was, the Royal Guard looked just as he had the day Kuroda had ended his life.

He was a middle aged man with deep brown eyes and long sage green hair that had been tied up into a high pony tail which resembled the hairstyle of the old Edo period samurai. In addition to that he had quite a bit of stubble growing around his face, heavier around his lips than his cheeks though it did little to hide his chiseled features.

His attire consisted of a black shihakusho as was standard for shinigami as well as a white haori, similar to those worn by division Captains. The only difference in his haori was the zero symbol on his back, indicating that he was part of the Royal Guard.

The black shihakusho however had its right side torn off, exposing the right side of Mitsurugi's chest, giving the on lookers a good look at the plethora of scars that dotted his skin.

He looked very much like an old samurai or ronin from Japan's past.

"Hmmm," mumbled the Royal Guard as he surveyed the shinigami and vizard gathered before him.

"Tell me," he began, "are any of these worth my time?"

"The Vizard might be," replied Kuroda,

"Vizard?" Mitsurugi turned to Shinji and his group, "you mean those strangely dressed fellows over there? They do seem to give off an unusual reiatsu signal."

He took one step towards them and instantly each of the Vizard went for their weapons, prepared for any move he would make.

"I suppose they'll do," Mitsurugi finally decided.

"You don't have a choice in the matter," Kuroda pointed out.

"Mmm, true, but I still like to think that I do," replied Mitsurugi.

His hand suddenly shot up and the Vizards tensed.

"You!" he began, pointing at Shinji,

"Me?"

"and you," he pointed at Rose,

"Huh?"

"and you," he pointed at Love, "I shall fight you three."

"Those two young ladies," he said, referring to Lisa and Hiyori, "can go play around with Wicapi. They are too weak for me to consider."

"Huh?" Hiyori scowled deeply, "what did you say ya old geezer?! I bet you wouldn't be saying that if you had my sword stuck up your ass!"

"How uncouth," Mitsurugi retorted, "were it not for your womanly shape, I might have mistook you for a young boy."

"WHAT!" Hiyori exploded, "I am totally a woman! Look at me! Hour glass figure! Nice hips! Wanna see my tits too?! Huh?! Do ya?!"

"The fact that you are not a boy is quite obvious from a physical stand point. But you are very unlady like," Mitsurugi replied evenly.

"Hey, how come I've got to take those two? I wanna fight strong people too you know. My girls haven't been played with properly in ages and are in desperate need of attention."

Kuroda pinched the bridge of his nose again, aggravated by Wicapi's unintended innuendo.

"Figure it out," he ordered, "just make sure they don't interfere."

With that said, Kuroda pushed off his foot and began making his way back to the Captain-Commander.

"Sorry Kuroda," Shunsui suddenly came out from a burst of Shunpo directly in front of Kuroda, "but I can't let you beat up the Old man anymore."

The Bloody Shadow's response was to simply jump back, confusing the Captain of the 8th at first.

Then suddenly a familiar blue blast of concentrated reishi lanced out at him. The shot would have caught him right in the face had he not tilted it out of the way at the last moment.

Wicapi, who had just fired the shot from her rifle smiled, "hold on a minute Captain, you and I have unfinished business."

The Cowgirl Quincy leapt into the air, taking Kuroda's place in font of Shunsui. She quickly leveled her weapon at the Captain and fired…straight into the air.

At the last moment Soi Fon, Captain of the 2nd, had appeared in front of the rifle and used her foot to kick its barrel up into the air, causing the shot to go wide.

Immediately Wicapi leapt back and scowled at the woman, "now that's just rude."

"Captain Kyoraku! Me and the Vizard shall deal with these two. You go after Kuroda!"

Shunsui gave the small woman a quick nod of appreciation before disappearing. Wicapi smiled as he did, "did you seriously just send him after Kuroda alone? You might as well have him fall on his own swords."

"He, is not your concern right now," Soi Fon shot back, raising up Suzumebachi on her right hand.

"Oh, so you have a death wish too?" asked Wicapi, "you can barely stand, hunting you will be no fun at all."

Soi Fon smiled smugly, causing the Spirit Huntress's own smile to falter, "while I have no doubt that I could handle you on my own, I will not be the only one you are fighting."

"Oh? Who else will there be?"

"Us CowTits!" Wicapi whipped around at the last moment to see the young Vizard woman, the one with blonde pig tails, wearing a rather monstrous looking mask and holding a savage blade over her head.

"**Butcher them: Kubikiri Orochi!"**

Wicapi had almost no time to jump out of the way and into the air, as she hung above the blonde Vizard and prepared to take aim another shadow descended upon her.

She looked up to see yet another Vizard, this one the woman in the school girl uniform, swinging around an oversized pole arm with a spade like blade and wearing a diamond shaped mask with a cross shaped opening.

"**Smash: Haguro Tonbo!"**

"Oh boy," the Quincy quickly spun out of the path of the pole arm and used Hirenkyaku to escape.

As she reappeared, so too did her three opponents.

In front of her stood the smug looking Captain of the 2nd, Soi Fon, over her right shoulder was the blonde pig tailed Vizard, and over her left shoulder stood the school girl Vizard.

"Hmmm, this could be fun after all," she smiled, pumping the lever of her rifle, "come on girls, let's get crazy!"

#

Miyamoto Mitsurugi idly scratched his hairy chin while observing his opponents.

Much like their allies, the three facing him had surrounded him in a triangle formation. A smart move, when one has the superior numbers, one must place their pieces in the correct positons or the advantage would mean nothing.

Their minds were sound at least, but their skills had yet to be determined.

"May I ask you a question?"

The three Vizard seemed a bit taken a back, Shinji responded, "what kind of question?"

"A simple one," replied Mitsurugi, "I notice that you and your comrades are not dressed in a traditional Shinigami attire, indicating that you are not part of the standard force. Furthermore, you do not seem to particularly care about members of Soul Society else you would have stepped into the fight long ago. That leads me to understand then that you are from some different group."

"Pretty good deduction," admitted Shinji, "yeah, we aren't part of Soul Society anymore. We're Vizards."

"VIzards…I see you are traitors, or cast outs to be more accurate. I doubt traitors would so freely help those that they'd betrayed," said Mitsurugi.

"We never betrayed anyone!" growled Love, "as a hero, I could never do such a thing!"

"Be that as it may," Mitsurugi's hand grasped the hilt of his zanpaktou, "the fact that you are not part of Soul Society means that killing you will bother me less than if you were."

The Royal Guard's katana slid out of its sheath with a long metallic noise before coming free with a final sharp report. He then took his stance, placing both hands on the hilt of his weapon and spacing his feet out with the right one in front of the left.

"I shall allow you to make the first move."

Without hesitation, the three Vizard pounced at their opponent. All three of them worked in perfect synchronization, Rose swept his weapon at his legs, Shinji thrust his blade at the man's heart, and Love prepared to cleave him from above.

Mitsurugi waited for the very last moment and then exploded into motion.

It happened so fast that none of the Vizards were aware that their combined attacked had failed until they were all suddenly flat on their backs.

With practiced speed and grace only capable of a master warrior, Mitsurugi foiled each of his opponents.

Shinji's thrust was the first to be foiled, Mitsurugi's blade came up and swatted it aside, causing the Vizard to miss his mark completely. The Royal Guard then turned into his swatting action by spinning his whole body.

As he spun, he struck upwards with instinctual accuracy at Love. Their weapons met midair, but Mitsurugi's weapon carried more force and so the afro toting Vizard's attempt was defeated as well.

Rose received the most damage. As Mitsurugi continued to spin himself in a fully circle, his foot shot out and collided with Rose's jaw, sending him tumbling through the rubble like a soccer ball.

Then as the Royal Guard completed his spin, his sword came flashing down again. Shinji, who was the target of the attack, almost didn't manage to back away in time.

The tip of the blade came short of his face by mere centimeters.

Love, who had been given the least amount of attention by the counter, came back at his opponent with a vengeance.

"**Slam: Tengumaru!"**

Love's katana immediately transformed itself into large black kanabo, more than twice the height of its wielder. Its entire length was lined with razor sharp blades causing it to almost seem like Love was wielding a massive black cactus.

"Take this!" he roared, raising his weapon above his head as he descended down upon the Mitsurugi.

The Royal Guard stood his ground, hold his weapon out in front of him.

At the last moment, Mitsurugi swung his word out and parried Love's much larger weapon. Not only did it send the Vizard reeling back but many of the blades protruding out form Tengumaru had been cleanly sliced off.

Mitsurugi swiftly shifted his stance to the _Waki Gamae_, where he held his sword at his side as though it were still sheathed.

He then pounced off his right foot and shot forward. Love, who was still off balance from having his attack foiled, was in no position to defend himself.

Lucky for him, Shinji suddenly appeared out of a blur of shunpo to defend his friend. He struck out with his zanpaktou, hoping to catch the Royal Guard by surprise and decapitate him.

But Mitsurugi swiftly lowered himself under the strike.

Out came his sword, Shinji once again tried to jump back out of reach. But this time he had simply been too close.

Mitsurugi's blade sliced through the Vizard's flesh, all the way from the left side of his ribcage to the right collarbone.

Shinji stumbled back shakily as his mind tried to register the massive amount of pain he was feeling while his body spat out blood.

"Damn!" he cursed. Looking down at his wound, Shinji found himself in awe.

It was a clean cut, no sign of tearing like a regular wound. No, that zanpaktou had gone through his skin as cleanly as it would have gone through water.

Which meant that if he hadn't jumped away when he had then that one move would have put him on the ground in two pieces.

Mitsurugi suddenly assumed the _Jodan no Kamae_ stance, where his blade was held with two hands over his head.

He once again shot forward, not allowing Shinji time to recover.

'Shit', Shinji screamed in his head as he saw his impending doom approach.

Down came the blade…only to stop inches away from its destined target.

Mitsurugi shifted his eyes to the source of the problem, a golden segmented whip with a mace like head shaped like a flower.

The Royal Guard looked over his shoulder to see the Vizard he'd kicked away not too long ago holding the other end of the whip. More interesting however was the new addition to the man's face.

He now wore a bone white mask that resembled a medieval plague doctor's mask. It provided a coincidentally stylish match to the man's outfit.

"Now, now, now," spoke Rose, his voice warped by the mask, "we can't have you doing that now can we? Your style is quite good, but using it against my friends warrants an interruption."

"Shinji!" Love rushed to his comrade's side, "are you-?"

"I'm fine," Shinji assured, "but this guy is damn fast! We ain't even started and he's already taking us to school."

"I admit, I am disappointed," added Mitsurugi, lowering his sword, "I had hoped that allowing you the handicap of three on one would be enough. But I see now that I must allow you a further advantage."

Disappearing in a blur of shunpo, Mitsurugi placed himself a distance away from his opponents.

"Go on, I can wait."

"Huh? What the hell are ya talkin about?" asked Shinji,

"I'm not stupid," Mitsurugi informed them, "I may not know what that thing is…"

He pointed his zanpaktou at Rose.

"Oi! I'm not a thing!" protested the blonde Vizard,

"He's talking about your mask you idiot."

"Correct Mr. Afro."

"Mr. Afro?" asked Love,

"When you donned that mask, you're reiatsu, speed, strength, an all other attributes rose in power. I don't know what that thing is," he repeated, "and to be quite frank I don't really care. But since you have one, I can only deduce that you two do as well. So…go ahead."

Shinji clutched his wound and tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword.

"Go ahead and put on your masks, I can wait."

"This guy's a real piece of work," muttered Shinji,

"Even so," said Love, "I think we better do it. We're up against a member of the Zero Division after all, if we don't go all out…"

"Yeah," said Shinji, placing his hand in front of his face, "I know."

Together the two of them donned their masks.

Shinji's resembled a pharoh's mask, with a short flowing hood that hung down the back of his neck. In addition to the mask, Shinji's sclera had become completely black and his irises had greyed over.

Love's fit his zanpaktou, taking on the form of a traditional Japanese Oni mask, a mythical creature usually depicted using the same type of kanabo Love used.

Mitsurugi raised an eyebrow in interest.

Without warning all three of the Vizard disappeared.

The Royal Guard smiled, he too suddenly disappeared.

In a single instant, all three of the combatants returned to the visual plane in shower of sparks.

Shinji's changed eyes widened greatly as he held back Mitsurugi's sword with his own, their blades locked tightly against one another.

Rose and Love, who were to either side of Shinji, looked on with equal surprise at the scene unfolding before them.

"Even with our masks on…" whispered Rose,

"He intercepted us in mid shunpo," finished Love,

"That's much more like it," spoke the Royal Guard with a calm blood lust in his voice, "I don't believe I ever properly introduced myself. Once Third Kenpachi of the Gotei 13 and former Royal Guard to his majesty the Soul King, I am Miyamoto Mitsurugi."

#

Guns were a rarity in the spiritual realm where most technology harkened back to more ancient times. For this reason Soi Fon had very little experience fighting an opponent armed with one, but she had the general concept of how.

Stay out of the way of the bullets and you'd be fine.

Bullets weren't like swords, once fired they headed in a straight line until they finally hit something. At least, that's how it was supposed to be.

They weren't supposed to fly around after you like a bird after a bee.

Currently Soi Fon had three of the Quincy's homing bullets chasing after her. It took all her Shunpo training and speed just to keep ahead of them.

She jumped up into the air and the reishi bullets streaked right after her.

She made a hard turn left and the bullets still persisted.

It soon became clear to the Captain that she wouldn't be losing her pursuers anytime soon. At least she was doing better than her allies.

The two Vizard women, lacking Soi Fon's speed, had resorted to using their weapons to deflect the shots coming from their opponent. The problem was that the Quincy was deadly accurate with her rifle, more than once shot had nearly taken the life of the Vizard and any shot that they did manage to block chipped away at their zanpaktou.

Lisa, the one in the school girl uniform, already had cracks spider-webbing through the blade of her spear.

Hiyori, the one with pigtails, had several "teeth" missing from her serrated sword.

Worse part, none of them had managed to land a single strike on the Quincy Cowgirl. She had wisely positioned herself far away from them, nearly on the other side of the battlefield where she could safely take shots at them with her rifle.

Getting to her would require braving her deadeye shooting and that clearly wasn't turning out well for the Shinigami and Vizard.

Hiyori spat a glob of blood out onto the ground. One of the Quincy's shots had clipped her on the side, it would have taken her in the gut if Lisa hadn't pulled her out of the way at the last second.

"Damn it," she muttered, "I liked this jacket."

"We can't keep this up," whispered Lisa, her mask warping her voice, "right now she's just messing with us."

Hiyori grunted in agreement.

"Let's try splitting up. You go left, I'll go right."

"Deal, try not to die till I get her."

"Same goes for you."

Both disappeared and began their charge.

#

Over on her perch atop a ruined skyscraper, Wicapi smiled smugly to herself. Her opponents were employing the oldest trick in the book.

Splitting up in order to divide the attention of the shooter. A solid plan, except it relied on the idea that the shoot would not be able to take out either runner immediately.

The Vizard had neither the numbers nor the speed to make their plan work. But that didn't mean that Wicapi wasn't going to shoot.

They were still quite far away, that gave some time to mess with them a little more.

Taking aim at the taller dark haired one Wicapi sighted down her target and pulled the trigger.

Lisa saw a flash from afar and immediately changed course. A fraction of a second later a beam of blue light struck where she had just been. Another second and another shot was coming at her.

The Vizard had no time to check to see if Hiyori was taking advantage of the situation to move forward. Shots were coming in too fast and too accurately. Her only salvation was that their destructive power seemed to be concentrated into a single point. If they were to explode after impact, then she'd be really screwed.

#

Wicapi loved watching the Vizard gracefully dance to the beat of her rifle but allowing her to continue dodging like this was starting to wear thin.

The Spirit Huntress poured extra reshi into the next shot, causing the end of her barrel to glow with power.

"To the chest or to the face?" she asked aloud as her crosshairs danced between the wo potential targets, "hmmmm…face."

#

Something wasn't right, at least ten seconds had gone by since the last shot. For Lisa, that was a sure sign that the enemy had changed tactics.

Before the Quincy had just been peppering them with shot after shot, most likely in an attempt to overwhelm them with sheer volume.

Now though, to have a lull in the fire was unnerving.

Lisa saw another flash from their destined building.

Then suddenly the world became white and she only knew pain.

"LISA!"

#

"LISA!" screamed Hiyori as she saw her comrade take a shot to her masked face only for the same round to explode in a brilliant spectacle of blue fire a moment later.

Hiyori had not time to check to see if Lisa was alright or even still alive. Fact was that even if she was still breathing she was most likely out of this fight.

That meant that damn Quincy would be sighting down her next. Sure enough a blue flash of light came from the building and Hiyori was forced to duck behind some rubble.

"Fucking Cowtits," muttered Hiyori as she quickly scrambled from cover to cover hopes of throwing off her opponent's aim, "how does she even hold a rifle with those jugs anyway?"

#

Wicapi let out a snort of amusement.

The blonde Vizard was trying to duck behind the remnants of buildings in order to hide from Wicapi's gaze. Once again a good tactic, but only when facing a regular shooter.

Wicapi was far from regular.

#

Hiyori had ducked into what she guessed was some sort of school judging from all the desks and chalkboards.

'She hasn't fired at me for a while' Hiyori thought to herself, 'she must not be able to see through the walls. Good, if I can just keep finding shit to hide behind, I can-"

Whatever thoughts Hiyori had were lost when a bright blue flash filled her vision.

"Shit!" she screamed as she quickly ducked down.

A quick glance up and Hiyori found herself staring at a clean hole punched through the wall of the room she was in.

"She can see me!" the Vizard quickly realized, jumping to her feet and doubling her pace, "fucking bitch was screwing with me!"

As if to confirm her suspicions another flash of blue crossed her vision, this time it shot through the wall and managed to clip the side of her mask before shattering some windows on its way out.

Now Hiyori really new that Quincy bitch was screwing with her. Had that been one of those exploding bullets she'd be dead by now, instead the Quincy just continued firing her regular rounds.

"I'm gonna chop her up into tiny pieces when I get to her," Hiyori vowed angrily.

Another flash, this one took off the tip of her horn. That really pissed Hiyori off.

"Fucking bitch! Seeing though walls like some damn perverted teenage boy! That's just cheating!"

#

Wicapi could not actually see through walls but she could pinpoint the source of Hiyori's reiatsu signature.

Like she had told the Captain from before, Quincy were masters of reishi manipulation. They understood the building blocks of the spiritual world far better than the Shinigami or Hollows ever would.

This particular ability she was using had been dubbed: _Sonargerat_

By sending out her own reiatsu in thin waves throughout the battlefield, she could reach out and see where her reiatsu would end and her opponent's begin.

When using _Sonargerat_, Wicapi saw the world in pure colors instead the mix that regular vision afforded. Everything touched by her reiatsu was a brilliant blue with the items closest to her being the darkest while everything further away was a more faded shade.

Her target's reiatsu was a sort of deep pink. Interesting color for such a tomboyish girl.

Regardless of color, Wicapi needed only aim for where the color was darkest to find where her target lay. Even at this range, the Vizard's presence lit up in the form of a pink orb moving through the building.

Wicapi smiled as she channeled more power into her rifle.

It had been fun for a bit but now it was time to put an end to this game.

#

Okay this was weird, she hadn't been shot at for a bit now. Was the Quincy just waiting for Hiyori to exit the school? If she was, then she was gonna get her wish pretty soon.

Hiyori didn't dare stop moving for fear that doing so would give her opponent a stationary target. But she also knew that as soon as she exited this building she'd be out in the open, which meant no more hiding behind walls, not that that had done her any good.

"Shit," she muttered to herself, "I'm just gonna have to risk it!"

Up ahead she saw the light of the outside, it wasn't too far before she'd reach it. She just had a little further to go and then a corner to round before she was out.

"Here we go!" Hiyori sprinted towards the exit.

_Chk-chk_

The Vizard's heart skipped a beat.

Out here? So far way? There was no way she could hear that Quincy's gun in here.

That could only mean one thing.

Hiyori's body twisted as her feet continued to carry her forward and around the corner…right into the barrel of Wicapi's gun.

_Bang!_

A flash of blue and Hiyori found herself tumbling backwards while pain burned its way through her body. She screamed in defiance as she felt herself fly through the air.

Somehow through all of it, Hiyori realized what had happened.

The Quincy bitch had been waiting for her, that's why she'd stopped firing. She'd managed to predict Hiyori's route, or maybe she'd driven Hiyori to the exit in the first place.

Then she'd just waited at that exit to hit the woman with one of those exploding bullets.

Hiyori's thoughts were suddenly cut off when she felt herself slam into something hard. Whatever she'd hit gave under the force of her body and crumbled.

Next she felt herself fall, only to hit the ground a moment later.

Blood filled her mouth, she knew even without looking that she was hurt bad.

With some effort Hiyori managed to pry her eyes open. She was greeted by the insultingly blue sky above and the bright light of the sun.

"Fucking bitch," she managed to curse out as she carefully picked herself up off the ground.

Now here jogging jacket really was ruined, along with her Hollow mask, and the left leg of her pants. She spat the blood in her mouth out onto the ground, her body hurt all over.

"Still alive?" she heard a voice ask,

With her teeth bared Hiyori looked up to see the Quincy casually standing up on the building she'd blasted the Vizard out of.

"I'm impressed, few can take a shot like that to the face and live. Must've been the mask, next time I'll aim for your heart."

"You ain't gonna get that chance Cowtits!" growled Hiyori, pointing her zanpaktou at the Quincy. A sneer found its way onto her lips, "you made a real big mistake coming in this close! In that building you might've had a chance, shoot at me from afar with your gun. But up this close…"

Without any move from her hand, Hiyori's mask suddenly began to reform. She leapt at her target, shoving off her feet with all the strength she could muster.

The Vizard female appeared before her still calm opponent, weapon held back ready to swing and her mask completely reformed.

"…you're mincemeat!" she finished and swung her sword.

Wicapi lazily narrowed her eyes, "oh please."

Unexpectedly, the Quincy tossed her rifle up high. At first Hiyori was confused, why had she thrown away her weapon? Then the Vizard recalled the pair of deadly revolvers hanging at the Cowgirl's side.

With speed that did right by her attire, Wicapi's hands plunged down and grabbed the butt of her sidearms.

Hiyori, in a vain attempt to stop her opponent, continued to follow through with her strike.

But she simply wasn't fast enough.

The Quincy's left hand shot up first and at this range she hardly needed to aim.

_Bang!_

The first round struck Hiyori's Kubikiri Orochi, knocking off another one of its deadly teeth and causing it to lose momentum.

_Bang!_

Another round, this time from Wicapi's right hand. Once again she shot at the Vizard's weapon, chipping off another of the weapon's teeth and sending cracks spider webbing up the blade.

By then Hiyori's strike had been all but defeated.

With the threat of decapitation eliminated, the Spirit Huntress could focus entirely on the opponent only a few feet from her.

In a span of a single second she fired off four shots, each one directed towards a vital part of the Vizard's mobility.

The first two struck Hiyori in the shoulders and rendered her arms completely limp. The second two had been directed at her knees, leaving them completely useless.

Hiyori's grip on her weapon loosened and she fell back to the ground a boneless mass of meat, screaming in pain.

"Bitch! Bitch! Bitch!" she cried out as she attempted to move her unresponsive body, "I'm gonna tear ya to pieces!"

"Brave talk from someone who can barely move," Wicapi replied evenly as she hovered down to Hiyori's level.

The Vizard growled like an animal, "take this!"

Hiyori opened up her masked mouth and a red orb began to form between her teeth.

_Bang!_

A chunk of Hiyori's mask suddenly shattered, exposing the right side of her forehead and eye. The Cero that she had been creating immediately dissipated.

"That was a cero wasn't it?" asked Wicapi, the barrel of her revolver still smoking, "I've fought enough Hollow to know what one looks like. Interesting though that a Shinigami should be able to make one."

"I…I ain't a Shinigami, Cowtits," Hiyori managed to struggle out, "I'm a Vizard! You hear me? A-"

"A Vizard?" Wicapi interrupted as she moved to stand over her prey, "how very interesting, perhaps I'll keep your mask as a trophy."

The Quincy leveled her gun at Hiyori's exposed eye and smiled.

"Try not to blink."

#

Love couldn't understand, why was he bleeding?

He'd blinked.

Now blood, his blood, was gushing out of his side. The cut went all the way from the surface of his skin and stopped just short of his spine. A little more and he'd have been cut in half.

Worse, he had a feeling that the only reason he wasn't in two pieces was because his opponent had mercifully decided not to.

Pity: that was what spared his life. Love hated that, a hero shouldn't have to be saved from the pity of his opponent.

Those were his thoughts as the world began to darken and he felt himself hit the ground.

"Love!" yelled Rose as he watched his friend fall into a pool of blood.

"That bastard-", Shinji's words were cut off when a flash of movement erupted in the corner of his eye. Instinctively he threw up his zanpaktou, a moment later sparks exploded out from the blade.

Mitsurugi had attempted to cut Shinji just like he had Love: through the rib cage. The Samurai's sword slid across Shinji's as the man himself followed through with the attack.

A mere moment later, he was behind Shinji. Mitsurugi then whirled himself around and struck at the Vizard's back. Thankfully at the last moment, Rose cracked his golden whip and used its head to parry the man's strike, giving Shinji enough time to jump out of the way.

"Geezus, this guy's speed is ridiculous. We can't even-", Mitsurugi was suddenly once again in front of Shinji, his blade held in a _Waki Gamae_ stance.

Shinji was far too slow to block, instead he pushed off the tip of his toe in hopes of getting away.

Out came Mitsurugi's sword, its tip slicing its way across the Vizard's chest.

"Damn it!" cursed Shinji, "I liked this shirt."

"Impressive, despite being slower you managed to minimize the damage of my attack," commented the Royal Guard.

The Vizard was so winded that he couldn't even muster a witty response.

Mitsurugi had returned himself to a _Gedan no Kamae_ stance, where his sword was pointed at the ground.

Rose appeared behind him out of shunpo, "Take this!"

He cracked his whip, intent on taking out their opponent from behind. At the last moment, the Samurai used his god like speed to whip around and parry the incoming attack with an upwards strike.

Then without missing a beat, his hand reached out and grabbed the whip where its head and rope connected.

Despite his enhanced strength from wearing his mask, Rose found himself unable to pull his whip out of Mitsurugi's hand. The Royal Guard's grip was like iron.

"Attacking from behind? That's not very honorable," muttered the Royal Guard. Without warning the Samurai yanked the whip towards himself, causing Rose to come flying forward. At the same time Mitsurugi pushed off his right foot and pounced at his airborne target.

Then he disappeared, invisible.

Then he was visible, behind Rose who had yet to fall back to his feet.

Then blood exploded out from the Vizard's body. When he finally landed back onto the ground his legs could barely hold him up, he even stumbled a few steps so that he would not fall.

A thousand cuts had been drawn upon his body.

"_Senmaioroshi: The Thousand Swords_" announced Mitsurugi, "a technique where the user moves his blade so fast that the target is shredded to pieces. I held back in respect to your former status as a Captain of the Gotei 13. But your role in this fight…is over."

With that last word, Rose's legs finally gave out from under him.

"Rose!" called out Shinji as he saw his second friend hit the ground.

"You should be far more worried about yourself," commented the Royal Guard, "after all, you must now face me alone. Though if I'm being completely honest, that is in part due to myself."

"What the hell are you talking about?" growled Shinji,

"Those two, your friends, they released their Shikai almost immediately. But you have not, that leads me to believe two things. One, your Shikai is not meant for working with a team. Two, you are the strongest out of the three of them."

"Wouldn't know," replied Shinji, "never actually had to fight against either of them."

"I see, regardless, you and I are now the only ones participating in this duel. You are now free to release your Shikai. Go ahead, I can wait."

"Heh, bastard. Acting so damn smug," the Vizard raised his blade out in front of him, "but fine, your right. My zanpaktou ain't good for fighting alongside others. At least, not for extended periods. But we're alone now, which means I don't gotta hold back."

Mitsurugi smiled, "I'm relieved, I was beginning to be afraid that all there was to your kind was your masks."

"Here we go," whispered Shinji.

"**Collapse: Sakanade"**

#

A single gunshot echoed into the sky.

Despite what the Quincy had said, Hiyori had blinked.

Facing down the barrel of gun, her enemy gloating over her, and promise of death only a moment away. How could she not have? Even with all her bravado, there was still enough humanity to cause her to feel fear in that last moment before death came for her.

But then, how was she still thinking? Hiyori didn't know what death was supposed to be like, but she was pretty sure she was supposed to know when she was dead.

Cautiously she tried opening her eyes.

"That's the second time you've interrupted me," she heard the Quincy say. What the heck was she talking about?

"Heh, maybe you're not as good of a shot as you think you are."

Hiyori knew that voice, her eyes flung themselves open.

"You?!"

"I should have known traitors like you wouldn't be able to handle this," spoke the Captain of the 2nd Division and Onmitsukido: Soi Fon, "to be quite honest I'd rather have let you die. However, Lady Yoruichi would be displeased if I were to do so. For her I shall save your lives."

"Bitch," muttered Hiyori, "nothing but bitches out here."

While the Shinigami and Vizard traded words, Wicapi replayed the last few minutes in her head. As she had pulled the trigger, the small Captain had arrived at the last moment. She then kicked the barrel of Wicapi's weapon, causing the shot to go wide.

Speed was clearly this one's specialty. Only a master of high speed movement could have pulled off a maneuver like that.

This could be fun.

But how to play this one?

"Hey," said the Quincy, catching the attention of the Shinigami, "what did you say?"

"Pardon?"

"You said before 'maybe you're not as good of a shot as you think you are', am I right?"

"What of it?"

"I can't exactly let such slander of my abilities pass so easily," explained the Quincy. Unexpectedly she turned her back and walked away fifteen steps, "now I'll need to prove how good of a shot I am."

Soi Fon furrowed her brows, obviously confused.

Then even more unexpectedly, the Quincy pivoted on her heel and turned so that her back was facing the Shinigami Captain.

Soi Fon frowned, unsure of what was happening.

"Well? Aren't you going to attack?" the Quincy suddenly asked, "my back is turned to you, my weapons are lowered, and you stand but a scant fifteen steps away from me. Will you not seize this chance Shinigami?"

Soi Fon's frown turned into a snarl, the Quincy bitch was baiting her! This was clearly a trap but it was also a challenge.

A challenge between her speed and the Quincy's accuracy.

A challenge to see which would come out in top when pitted against each other.

Would Soi Fon's speed be too much? Would it be enough to clear the distance and allow her to land her _Nigeki Kessatu_? Her _Death In Two Steps_?

Or would Wicapi's accuracy allow her shots to strike true? The Quincy definitely seemed to think so, she was giving her adversary the handicap of needing to turn around before shooting.

Instinct screamed at her to try for a different way.

To not take the bait.

But her pride, her pride as Captain of the 2nd Division, as Commander of the Onmitsukido, and a Student of Yoruichi, that pride overpowered all instinct. It commanded that she show what she could do.

Against better judgment and common sense, she crouched down and dug her heels into the ground in preparation to pounce forward.

A single second passed.

"For Soul Society," she whispered.

Soi Fon exploded off her feet towards her target.

To any onlookers, the Captain of the 2nd would have just been a blur. Her feet moved faster than she had ever made them move before. At the same time as she advanced, she simultaneously used shunpo to perform a side to side evasive maneuver in hopes of providing a harder target for her opponent.

The Quincy for her part was just as still as she had been when she issued the challenge.

For that reason, Soi Fon pressed in harder.

Whether it was hubris or confidence that made her opponent act in such a way she did not care. All she knew was that in just one more second, this battle would be decided.

Soi Fon was nothing more than a shadow at this point, moving so fast that to anyone else she might as well have been nowhere at all.

There was no way that even the Quincy, with her impeccable accuracy, could take her down now. She had closed too much distance.

This Quincy may have been able to deal death from thousands of yards away, but close quarters combat was Soi Fon's domain.

The Captain spotted her target: the Cowgirl's neck.

A strike there would not only place her zanpaktou's 'death mark' but also cause enough blood to spill out and throw off the Quincy's balance.

She was just a few feet away now and not even a full second had passed.

Soi Fon leapt forward, covering the distance between them instantly.

For just a brief moment, the Shinigami returned to the plane of others.

Her remaining arm, clad in her zanpaktou Suzumebachi, lunged forward towards its target.

Wicapi was suddenly a blur herself though she remained stationary. One moment she had her back to the Shinigami Captain and the next Soi Fon found herself staring right into the Quincy's dark brown eyes.

"Sorry Shinigami…"

It took a moment for Soi Fon to realize her situation. Suzumebachi had overshot or missed its target, whichever it was her remaining arm was now resting on the Qincy's shoulder, who was no worse for wear.

Then she felt something poke up against her chest.

"…I win."

Soi Fon heard the gunshot but strangely enough she didn't feel anything. Immediately she tried moving her legs, her body began to move as well but not in the manner she wanted it to.

Her vision began to darken, why was that happening?

Why was she falling?

What was going on?

Then Soi Fon knew, she was dying.

She had failed.

#

Mitsurugi was a bit confused.

As a Samurai both by philosophy and by life, he had shaped most of who he was to be the best fighter he could.

Staring at his opponent's Shikai, it took a lot for Mitsurugi not to scream out just how unsuited for fighting it was.

The pommel had become a large metal ring that was currently allowing the rest of the sword to rotate around Shinji's hand without him actually gripping any part of the zanpaktou. That by itself was a disadvantage, such ridiculous extras to the sword would unbalance it in a fight.

In addition the blade of the sword was lined with five holes separated by equal amounts of length. While he was no expert in the making of swords, Mitsurugi knew that having those holes would compromise the integrity of the blade.

It just didn't seem like a proper weapon to fight with. However, he had learned from his fight with Kuroda many years ago not to underestimate a weapon simply because of its looks.

"That is a most…peculiar looking sword," he commented.

"Isn't it?" asked Shinji smugly, "you can't have it though. Say, doesn't something smell good?"

The Samurai suddenly realized that his nose was indeed picking up a new smell in the air. A moment later he also began to notice a thin mist of pink surrounding himself and the Vizard.

"Too late to hold your breath," announced the Vizard.

The Royal Guard shook his head as he began to feel his thoughts and vision blur. Whatever this Shikai was, it was starting to effect his perception of the world. He closed his eyes in an attempt to dispel the assault on his senses

"Welcome, to the Inverted World."

Mitsurugi reopened his eyes, only to see that the world was now upside down, or perhaps it was still right side up and he was upside down.

Either way, the world now seemed to be above him and the sky below.

The Vizard standing across from him had similarly been flipped.

"This is my Sakanade's ability. It inverts the controls of all the players on the battlefield. Up is now down. Down is now up. Left is right and right is left."

Mitsurugi narrowed his eyes, inverted? Up was now down and left was now right.

Feeling the need to experiment, Mitsurugi struck his sword out randomly to his left. But instead of sending a massive geyser of rubble and dust up into the air on his left as expected, it happened on his right.

"Oh! So you're already figuring it out," commented Shinji, "you see now. Whatever you do now will have the opposite result of what you expect. For instance…"

The Vizard suddenly dashed forward his sword raised high.

Mitsurugi assumed the _Chudan no Kamae _stance, as Shinji came in the Samurai tracked his movements.

When he was in range, Shinji swung his sword at the Royal Guard's right shoulder. With flawless execution, Mitsurugi moved his own zanpaktou to parry the attack.

But as the two blades began to make contact, Mitsurugi felt pain suddenly explode in his left leg.

Surprised, the Samurai jumped away.

Quickly he analyzed his new wound. There was blood and pain, it was definitely real. Judging by the depth and size of it he guessed that it would have been made by a strike similar to the one Shinji had thrown his way.

"So that's what you meant by inverted," he muttered. Everything had been reversed, including the placement of the strikes.

When his right shoulder had been attacked, the Vizard's shikai had caused the impact to fall on the back of his left leg. Interesting, as a seasoned fighter Mitsurugi's reflexes were geared towards perfect blocking.

This shikai that the Vizard was employing against him could prove to be a nuisance.

The more you fought, the better your reflexes and instincts became. In a way, there was no worse game changer that Shinji could have employed against Mitsurugi. There was only one problem, the samurai had already figured out the perfect counter.

"Very interesting Vizard, your shikai is nothing short of a game changer. But there is something you have not taken into account."

"Oh?" Shinji asked with a raised eyebrow.

Without warning Mitsurugi burst forward.

Shinji tried to avoid the strike by sidestepping to his right.

Unfortunately Mitsurugi turned his charge into a spin where he stuck his sword out. The resulting whirlwind saw the samurai sword strike at Shinji's left arm.

The Vizard immediately moved his sword to his right leg where a spark erupted for seemingly no reason.

As Mitsurugi had expected, his opponent was well versed in fighting with the rules of his own world. Even so he struck again, this time with twice as much speed.

Shinji was once again forced to defend himself and it only got worse from there.

Mitsurugi's momentum never ceased, he furiously rained down blows upon the Vizard. Never once did he stop or pause, never once was there a break in his fluidity.

Despite knowing how to defend himself in the Inverted World he'd created, that was all Shinji could do: defend.

"It seems I was correct," said Mitsurugi as he continued to unleash his endless flurries upon Shinji, "despite the changes to the rules, you did not change the most basic ones. An attack is still an attack, flesh can still be cut by steel."

The smaurai's zanpaktou scored a hit on Shinji's left arm and shoulder.

"Your failure here Vizard is that as long as I do not allow you to attack, the point of this Inverted World becomes almost pointless."

"You son of a-", Mitsurugi caught the lapse in Shinji's concentration. A laps that he immediately took advantage of.

Without missing a single beat, he used the tip of his katana to break the Vizard's guard. He then shuffled forward and kicked one of Shinji's foot out from beneath him.

Then to finish up, he sliced the Vizard down from the collar bone all the way to his hip. Because of Sakanade, the wound appeared on Shinji's back, but the damage was done regardless.

Shinji's grip on his weapon loosened and he began to feel himself fall.

"A valiant attempt," he heard the former Royal Guard speak, "but in the end, you were simply out classed."

#

Kuroda felt no pleasure as he sensed the reiatsu signatures of the Vizard and Shinigami gradually fade. They were not quite gone as of yet but without immediate medical attention they soon all would be.

More stains upon his body.

Kuroda always felt that this form that AnShen gave him was the most appropriate representation of his own soul.

Soaked with blood, so much that his skin was stained to a near red, so much that every step he took plastered the ground with the crimson liquid, so much that when he moved others saw him as nothing more than a Bloody Shadow.

This world had made him into what he was, now it was time to return the favor.

He could see him, Genryusai Shigenkuni Yamamoto. The Captain Commander of the Gotei 13, he didn't need to die but Kuroda felt the need to kill him all the same.

As the first and only Captain Commander of Japan's Gotei, he was partially responsible for its foundation and was perhaps one of the greatest obstacles in Kuroda's design.

He'd already wounded the old man, though not through the fight he'd prepared for. The old man's reluctance to fight had been unexpected, but not unwelcome.

Now all he needed to do was end what he'd begun.

#

Yamamoto tore a piece of his shihakusho and used it to bind the wound Kuroda had left on his shoulder. It was not a major wound but it needed tending to all the same, his arm would fall off it was not.

It was his own foolishness that was to blame. If he had simply fought against Kuroda, then he would not have suffered such injury.

But then, how could he?

When he knew that the actions of the one who had inflicted them were not without reason.

Yamamoto cursed himself for the thousandth time. Many years ago he had held the power to prevent this very event from occurring, but he chose not to show mercy. He chose to sacrifice the soul of a single man for the sake of Soul Society.

Now it seemed, that that choice was coming forth to balance the scale.

The Captain Commander suddenly heard a wet slap, like feet that had just been soaked walking heavily on a stone tile floor.

Yamamoto turned around and found that his analogy had been quite close to the truth.

Kuroda

His feet were creating that wet-slapping noise every time he took a step after having been soaked in blood.

The noise finally came to a stop when the Bloody Shadow finally ceased moving forward.

He was looking down at the destruction of the town below and did not seem to be paying much mind to Yamamoto.

"So much destruction," he said aloud, "houses wrecked, buildings toppled, all reduced to rubble. Yet nothing more than a child's playhouse compared to what I have seen."

The Bloody Shadow turned his eyes back up at Yamamoto, allowing for the Captain Commander to see the bloody streaks running down the man's face.

"Wouldn't you agree Captain Commander?"

Yamamoto remained silent.

"How does it feel? Knowing that after you die, the rest of the world shall follow?"

"What are you planning Kuroda?"

The Bloody Shadow unexpectedly let out a laugh, "Ha! You think I'm going to tell you? Is that it? I've turned into some horrible villain that enjoys gloating over his opponents before killing them? No, if you die here it will be in ignorance."

Yamamoto tightened the grip on his zanpaktou.

"I will not die here."

"Still trying to run away from your punishment?" Kuroda asked snidely.

"What I did, what I agreed to, I did so without choice. For the sake of balance and peace."

"Hmph, well that makes it all better now doesn't it?"

Yamamoto remained silent.

"It doesn't matter, not now anyway. I'm going to just going to continue with killing you now."

Kuroda raised AnShen and pounced forward, fully intent on driving its blade through the old man's heart.

A flash of red in the corner of his eye and he was force to halt himself as a sound akin to fireworks followed by a crimson wave of energy passing right in front of him.

Kuroda frowned, he recognized that technique.

He turned towards the direction that the red wave had come from.

Almost immediately he heard the sound of fireworks again and another red wave of energy, although this time it was coming directly at him.

The Bloody Shadow simply stretched out his free hand and caught the red wave with his bare palm. He then proceeded to manipulate the reishi particles of the attack, allowing him to apply pressure upon it and send it right back.

It collided with a crimson hexagon shaped barrier of the same properties.

"I should have known you would show up sooner or later, Kisuke."

"You're causing such rukus," said the owner of both the crimson attacks and the shield, "how could I not? Seeing as this is as much my fault as the Captain Commander's?"

Kuroda visibly winced as he turned away from the shop owner.

"Do not stand in my way my friend, if you do I cannot guarantee that you will walk away."

"I know," replied Kisuke.

"Hmmm," Kuroda alternated glances between the Shop Keeper and the Captain Commander.

Fighting Yamamoto alone would have been a challenge, especially if the old man decided to finally invoke his Bankai. Fighting Kisuke would have been less of a challenge, though not by much. The man's intellect was invaluable in battle, though ultimately Kuroda knew his raw power would win out in the end.

Fighting them together was a different story. Kuroda wasn't particularly worried about it, he was quite sure he could take them.

However his body had not yet fully adjusted to his Bankai or being released from the seals. Additionally, if he was being honest with himself, there were better uses for his time then fighting two Shinigami whom would probably be dealt with later on anyway.

"Thinking about how you're going to fight both me and the Captain Commander?" asked Kisuke,

"Yes," Kuroda replied rather bluntly.

"You may want to hold back on that."

Kuroda raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Because you won't be fighting two of us," Kisuke explained with a knowing smile.

Kuroda raised an eyebrow and was about to ask what the Shop Keeper was talking about, when a shadow suddenly descended upon him.

He raised his eyes to the sky in time to see a figure descending down upon him. Reflexively Kuroda threw up his arm, blocking a powerful axe kick.

Despite his power, the Bloody Shadow buckled slightly under the sheer kinetic force of the strike.

Before he could retaliate however, the figure was suddenly surrounded by a wispy lightning like power. Kuroda immediately recognized this technique as well and the connotation of who the user was left him hesitant.

His hesitation cost him, the attacker suddenly executed a backwards flip but came right back at him with a roundhouse kick aimed at the face.

To avoid the attack, Kuroda was forced to give ground and jump away.

With nothing to accept the force of the strike, the area surrounding the attacker's foot suddenly became a massive trench that matched the arc of the kick.

Kuroda frowned, the technique in which his attacker was using was known as Shunko: a high form of Hakuda in which the user fused Kido into their arms and legs.

Only two people were known to be able to use the technique thus far.

One was Captain Soi Fon, who was currently occupied fighting Kuroda's Quincy.

That left only one other person.

"Yoruichi," he whispered.

The slender dark skinned woman did not respond, instead she simply glared intensely at him. Her beautiful golden eyes burned holes through his soul, so much so that Kuroda found himself unable to meet her gaze.

This did not go unnoticed by the Flash Goddess and it made her heart ache. Again she felt the need to reach out and help him as she had done so many times.

But she steeled herself and held back.

The Kuroda she knew was gone now, replaced by the Bloody Shadow. So in honor of her friend, she would defeat this imposter that flaunted around with his likeness.

Kuroda for his part, felt no less ache than the woman opposite of him. But he too steeled himself, except he did so for the sake of his mission and cause.

No words were exchanged between the two, they simply stared at one another as though they were enemies.

"Three then, is it?" asked Kuroda, breaking the silence first though he did so by talking to Kisuke.

Kisuke frowned. He'd hoped that the sight of Yoruichi would have snapped his old friend back into sanity, but he should have known that the Bloody Shadow's grip was too strong.

"Three of you against me?" Kuroda asked again, "I suppose that's a little more fair."

"Don't forget me!" a familiar voice called out.

Kuroda looked to his side and sighed, "I thought you of all people would know better, Shunsui."

"Sorry Kuroda," the Captain of the 8th replied in his usual manner as he raised up his twin zanpaktou, "but I can't just let you do whatever you want."

"Four then, the four of you against me. Very well, if you are all so eager to-"

"No"

"Pardon?"

"No" repeated Kisuke, "Not even us four. There is still one more."

Kuroda furrowed his eyebrows, who else could there possibly be?

Out of nowhere, Kuroda's ears were touched by the unexpected sound of breaking glass. His mind quickly made the connection that someone else had breached the barrier surrounding this fake town.

Not a moment later and he felt the reiatsu of a new presence.

Kuroda scoffed, "Oh please."

"**Getsuga Tensho!"**

**End**

**A/N**

**Hi Guys!**

**Another chapter for all of you to read.**

**Now before you all start raging that I've killed off your favorite character or something, let me just remind you that no one in this chapter is confirmed as dead just yet. Okay?**

**Characters are not dead till I say they are dead, which means Soi Fon and the Vizards still have a chance of living on till the end of all of this.**

**Now that that's cleared up, yes, Ichigo is now back in the picture.**

**Some of you are probably wondering why Yoruichi and Kuroda didn't have a more vocal exchange. I felt like this reunion would be more along the lines of "Ex's awkwardly bumping into each other". By that I mean if you awkwardly bump into your Ex-Girlfriend/Boyfriend, then usually you two aren't the most chatty pair around.**

**Plus there will be plenty of time for those two to talk later.**

**The next chapter will finish up our time in Karakura, so look forward to it.**

**Anyway, please leave a review for the chapter it really helps.**

**Also favorite and follow to keep up to date on the newest chapters!**

**That's all for now.**

**Bye Bye!**


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Second Battle of Fake Karakura – Part 3

"Oh please."

"**Getsuga Tensho!"**

Kuroda, who had made no move to defend himself, was engulfed in a massive vortex of black and red.

"Did I get him?" whispered Ichigo.

A mere moment later and the vortex was suddenly dispelled, sent away as quickly as it had come.

There stood Kuroda, looking no worse than before he had been engulfed.

"Ichigo Kurosaki," the Bloody Shadow muttered as he turned his eyes upon the young Substitute Shinigami.

"These few," he said, referring to the gathered forces behind him, "have made up their minds about me. Their purpose is unshakable, their intent is clear, they know why they must fight me. But why, I wonder, do you wish to do the same?"

Ichigo narrowed his eyes and responded, "Urahara filled me in on what was going on. He told me what you were doing, what you'd done, and what you were planning to do."

"Really?" asked Kuroda, almost whimsically, "and you believed him?"

"I…I didn't know what to believe," admitted the teen, "I just…I felt-"

"You felt confused," Kuroda finished, "well then, allow me to provide you with clarification."

Without warning and without Ichigo taking his eyes off of the Bloody Shadow, Kuroda suddenly appeared before the young man. He grabbed him the collar of his robe before whisking him away in a blur of shunpo.

#

After witnessing Kuroda disappear with the orange haired Substitute Shinigami, Kisuke released a sigh of relief. He had not been looking forward to exchanging blows with his former friend, no matter how much preparation he had done for its eventuality.

"What do we do?" asked Yoruichi,

Despite her efforts to cover it up, Kisuke detected a small quiver in her voice and waver in her resolve. This was hurting her inside, being here. To see Kuroda like he was, to know what they were all here to do, it might be too much.

Kisuke couldn't blame her, how many times had he simulated this scenario in his own mind and hoped that it would never happen?

Too many times.

"Shouldn't we go after him?" asked Shunsui, interrupting the shop owner's thoughts.

"There's no need," replied Kisuke, "Kuroda will not harm Ichigo, not right away at least."

"Oh? And why's that?"

#

"Rrrraaah!" Ichigo growled as he swung Tensa Zangetsu at Kuroda.

His aim was true and against any other opponent the attack would have separated the head from its shoulders. But Kuroda as usual, defied any expectations of normalcy.

He instead casually stepped out of the sword's range of attack, negating its danger to his wellbeing.

"I'm not going to fight you Ichigo, so you should stop wasting your energy trying to accomplish something that will never happen."

"Why? Why won't you fight me?" asked the teen angrily.

"You pose no threat to me," replied Kuroda, simply and bluntly.

Ichigo winced, though usually above trash talk the comment had been akin to a punch to the gut. After all the progress he'd made, all the training, all the battles he'd won, it was somewhat emasculating to hear Kuroda say he was no more than a nuisance with such confidence.

The Substitute tightened his grip on his weapon and leapt forward for another attack.

Again Kuroda avoided the attack with insulting amounts of ease.

"Perhaps you should try a **Getsuga** next, I'm sure that will work."

Never one to disappoint, Ichigo did just that.

He gathered his reiatsu into the blade of Tensa Zangetsu, wrapping it in a plethora of black and red energy.

"**Getsuga Tensho!"**

A wave of energy rolled towards his former friend.

Kuroda made no move to avoid the attack.

"What are you doing!?" Ichigo suddenly blurted out, "get out of the way!"

But still the Bloody Shadow did not move.

Then the wave struck, but it did not burn away at his skin like it did others. For to him this attack was no more deadly than a wave of water and just like water it washed over him while leaving him unscarred.

"As I said before, you are no threat to me," repeated the Bloody Shadow.

Ichigo was stunned to see his **Getsuga** so easily brushed aside, but still. He steeled himself and charged forward with the tip of his zanpaktou leading the charge.

But before he could even push off his foot, Kuroda was once again in front of him. He hadn't even blinked and yet the man just seemed to appear.

In his hand, he held the blade of Ichigo's zanpaktou.

The razor sharp edge that had torn through the flesh of both Shinigami Captains and Espada Arrancar, did little in the effort to pierce Kuroda's skin.

Unexpectedly, Kuroda yanked Tensa Zangetsu from Ichigo's hands and held it away like a parent taking something away from their child.

"So naïve, to think that you could stand before me."

Ichigo scowled, without hesitation he lashed out at Kuroda with a right hook.

Kuroda responded by using Tensa Zangetsu like a club, swinging it and bashing Ichigo in the temple with its hilt and sending him sprawling.

"Do you trust Kisuke so much, that you would so readily believe his claims about me?"

"I'm not the one standing in a pool of my friend's blood!" Ichigo spat, "I can feel them, the Vizard and the Captains. I feel them dying out there. All because of you!"

"Is this the first time you've been betrayed?" asked Kuroda,

Ichigo's face, contorted with anger, gave way to an expression of confusion.

"You truly are a child. Up until now, your enemy has always been someone you could fight, someone that could be put in front of you. It now falls to me, to become the enemy at your side. Or did all the help I gave you mean nothing?"

Ichigo's expression changed from confusion to shame, his eyes became downcast and his expression was sullen. He did indeed owe Kuroda a great many things.

The Bloody Shadow had trained him, protected him, saved his life more than once, and had even risked coming out of exile in order to assist Ichigo in rescuing a friend.

That was why the young Shinigami was so angry now, that was why when he heard of Kuroda's betrayal he had felt so hurt.

"Why," whispered Ichigo, "why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"What do you think?!" screamed Ichigo, his rage spiking, "our friends, our family, you're hurting them! And for what?!"

Kuroda a silent pause dominated the world for a moment, as Kuroda stared upon Ichigo like an adult does a child who has just learned a terrible truth.

"Because they stand in my way," replied Kuroda, "they stand between me and my goal."

"That's it?! That's why you're doing this?! You're killing people Kuroda! Our people!" spat Ichigo with disgust.

"I have done far worse in my past, this speckle of blood is just a few drops in the ocean that is my shadow on the world."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"You are still unwise to the state of the world Ichigo, I cannot hope to help you understand what must be done."

"And what's that?"

"The destruction of this system of things."

Ichigo's eyes widened, "what did you just say?"

"Armageddon Ichigo, it is my purpose to bring it about. To cleanse this universe of the failed experiment that is existence."

"But…but that would mean destroying everything!"

"Yes, it would."

"You're talking about ending the lives of billions of innocent people!" cried Ichigo in frustration, "doesn't…doesn't that mean anything to you?!"

"Only a cynical man would call what these people have 'lives' Ichigo. Poverty on every continent, blood shed around every corner, despair thick with every breath, this is not how life was meant to be."

With every word the acid in Kuroda's words grew in intensity.

"For hundreds of years I maintained the curtain that hid the rot, and now I once again find myself unable to allow it to exist. The very air sickens me, the existence of these…these people" he spat the word, "disgusts me. As the greatest contributor to this madness, it is only fitting that I be the one to end it."

"But… there are good people in the world. Thousands of good people!" protested Ichigo, "you know some of them! Chad! Orihime! Uryu! All our friends in Karakura! You know they're good!"

"Even more reason why I must do this," Kuroda shot back, "only I have the gall to do what must be done. Only I seem to have the bravery to finally scream out that 'enough is enough'! Should an animal be allowed to live while it spreads disease? No, it must be put down. Its body must be burned and all remnants must be destroyed!"

Ichigo's eyes continued to widen and his jaw began to drop with horror. Even with what Urahara had told him, he couldn't believe the words he was hearing come out of his friend's mouth.

They were horrible and yet were said with such confidence that a part of him couldn't help but wonder if Kuroda spoke the truth.

"Before you became a Shinigami I asked you if mankind was worth it. I allowed you to speak and voice your opinion. I already had my convictions, my ideals, and my opinions. But I listened to you anyway, I took what you said and used it to guide my actions," Kuroda paused for a moment, allowing himself a moment of heartfelt sadness.

"You were a fine student and a valuable friend. I wish I could help you and all the others see what I do, to help you all understand, so that you would all stand by my side when the world ends."

Ichigo clenched his teeth, "I'll be standing where all of them will be when the time comes, between you and this world."

The Shinigami saw a flare of anger spark through Kuroda's eyes.

"No one will stand in my way," spoke the Bloody Shadow, "the world has escaped its judgment for far too long. Like you, the others cannot seem to see what must be done. But I can only blame myself, I allowed for this to happen."

"I served the Soul Society as their agent, as the one who plunged his hands into the filth so that others could keep theirs clean. I assassinated Captains of the Gotei 13, committed genocide on the orders of officials, and burned entire cities to the ground."

"But no more! I will complete the work that I began all those years ago! I will destroy this reality and this time the forces of the Spirit King will not stand in my way!"

Without warning Kuroda tossed Tensa Zangetsu away and lunged forward, grabbing Ichigo by the throat.

"and neither will you!" he growled, before swinging the young Shinigami in a circle and tossing him away.

Ichigo screamed as he uncontrollably flipped head over heels before ploughing through the rubble and remains of the imitation of his home town.

"A distraction, a ploy to buy yourselves some time, that's all he was wasn't he? Kisuke?"

Out of nowhere, Kisuke, Yoruichi, Shunsui, and a new figure appeared to surround the Bloody Shadow in a box formation.

Kuroda turned to the newest addition to the opposing side, Isshin Kurosaki.

"So you are the fifth opponent for me to face."

"Well, I can't exactly let you get away for embarrassing my son like that. I'm the one whose supposed to do that."

"Now!" ordered Kisuke, shooting his hand forward and releasing a bright white chain of pure reishi.

Kuroda reacted immediately, using AnShen he batted the chain away and dashed forward to attack Kisuke.

But just as he was about to land a decisive strike that would have wounded the shop keeper gravely, Kuroda felt his sword arm halt.

He turned back to see another reishi chain, similar to the one Kisuke had tried to use, being held by Isshin. The elder Kurosaki yanked on his chain but Kuroda dug his heels in and resisted the pull.

Kisuke,Yoruichi, and Shunsui attempted to take advantage of the Bloody Shadow's temporary immobility.

But even hampered as he was, Kuroda was more than a match for them.

Disappearing in a short blur of shunpo, Kuroda reached out and grabbed the Captain of the 8th Division by the neck, only to toss him into the path of an oncoming Kisuke.

Yoruichi reached him and attacked with a massively powerful axe kick which he blocked using his forearm.

The resulting clash of power sent shockwaves throughout the battlefield and caused further destruction to the already very destroyed bits of town below.

Kuroda then retaliated by delivering an open palmed strike to the center of Yoruichi's chest, consciously knowing that it was the area that would cause the least amount of damage yet still incapacitate her.

Isshin yanked on the chain again in a vain attempt to assist his friends, "Jeez! You were always monstrously strong Kuroda. But I don't remember you being this much of a monster!"

Having had enough of that bothersome chain, Kuroda gripped it with his unshackled hand and snapped it.

Isshin quickly adapted and went on the offensive, **"Getsuga Tensho!"**

A wave of bright reiatsu engulfed Kuroda, the elder Kurosaki's Getsuga was much stronger than the younger's, but even still…

With a wave of AnShen, Kuroda dispelled the wave and charged.

Isshin was an experienced fighter and one of the most skilled Shinigami Kuroda had ever known. However, it had been many years since the man had picked up the blade and his power hand not yet fully returned.

For Kuroda, it was the equivalent of fighting a crippled man.

Isshin weathered the first few strikes only for the last one to send him spiraling down to the ground through pure force alone.

"**Bushogoma!"**

Kuroda was suddenly surrounded by a miniature tornado that obscured his view of the outside world. Familiar with this technique, Kuroda quickly leapt upwards to gain the advantage.

"**Shibari, Benihime"**

A blood red net of condensed reiatsu suddenly formed above Kuroda and fell upon him, restricting his movements.

The Bloody Shadow quickly picked out Kisuke, standing a fair distance away with his zanpaktou poised over the net.

"**Hiasobi, Benihime, Juzutsunagi"**

Kisuke stabbed the net with the tip of his_ Benihime_, orbs of fire began to burst out along the length of the net, exploding like linked land mines in a domino formation, all leading towards Kuroda.

The Bloody Shadow was enveloped in a tremendously large and devastating explosion.

"Did we get him?" asked Shunsui,

"Do you really need to ask?"

From out of the fire, Kuroda's crimson form burst out while trailing smoke high above the two Shinigami.

"Here he comes!" warned Kisuke before the blood red blur that was Kuroda slammed into him before Shunsui could so much as move.

A moment later, Kisuke was lying at the bottom of a crater in the rubble.

"Uh oh," muttered Shunsui.

Cold metal soaked in warm blood touched his neck. The Captain of the 8th didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

He let out a sigh, "you are being such a pain."

Kuroda unleashed his power, resulting in an equally tremendous explosion, but instead of fire there was only his blood colored reiatsu.

Regardless of the substance, Shunsui fell out of it a moment later, his body smoking as it went to greet the ground beneath.

Kuroda coldly watched it. Then he sensed another presence behind him.

"**Shunko!"**

The Bloody Shadow whipped around while flipping AnShen into a reverse handgrip.

He was immediately greeted by an incoming fist which he promptly blocked with AnShen's skull crosspiece. Yoruichi's golden eyes were ripe with anger, her tender lips formed a menacing snarl.

Kuroda kept his own expression blank as held her back.

"Is that it?" he asked,

"You wish!"

Yoruichi lashed out with her right foot, aiming its trajectory right for Kuroda's chin. Unexpectedly, the blow connected and sent the man reeling back.

The woman was surprised by the success of her attack but quickly decided not to question it, instead pressing the attack by following up with a flurry of combos.

Blow after blow landed itself on Kuroda's body and he accepted all of them.

Yoruichi was just about to finish with final reiatsu infused kick to the man's head when a bright blue beam cut across her vision, causing her to reflexively jump away.

Suddenly the Quincy woman that Kuroda had summoned appeared in front of her master.

"Letting yourself get beat up like that, that isn't like you," said Wicapi over her shoulder.

"There's no damage," Kuroda replied, standing back up.

Yoruichi's eyes widened, that was impossible! She'd landed nearly a hundred of her best shots on him, she knew that he was strong but to take such a beating and walk out practically unscathed was just ridiculous!

The Quincy woman raised her rifle and aimed it at Yoruichi, she tensed.

"Want me to kill her?" asked Wicapi,

"No," said Kuroda, almost immediately, "she's no threat."

"You sure?" asked a new voice,

The second one, the Royal Guard, Kuroda had summoned suddenly appeared out of Shunpo.

"Miyamoto."

"She seems pretty strong," continued the deceased Shinigami.

Kuroda turned his eyes back to Yoruichi, "perhaps your-"

His sentence was interrupted as he felt the arrival of yet more individuals invading the battlefield.

Not too far away a tear in the sky opened itself, a Garganta. But no Arrancar stepped out from it, instead three Shinigami Captains and three humans came forth.

Kuroda scowled as he looked on at the figures in the distance, more nuisances.

"The last of their reinforcements," he muttered venomously, "it would be little effort to just call forth the remaining Horsemen and wipe them all out now. But…"

He turned his gaze back to Yoruichi, let his gaze linger for a moment, and then continued "…there are better uses for our time right now."

Kuroda addressed his two minions, "come you two, we have work to do."

Together they all disappeared with their respective high speed techniques.

A moment later they all reappeared back together over the broken body of Tyran, the Cero Espada.

His two Fraccion, Yin and Yang, were desperately trying to revive him.

"Master Tyran! Master Tyran! Please open your eyes!" screamed the red twin.

"Please! Don't leave us!" cried the blue one.

"Your heart felt cries won't save him,"

They turned.

"You!" growled Yin, bringing her whip up to bear.

"You did this to Master Tyran," added Yang, engulfing her short blade in fire.

"Yes, I did," Kuroda replied as a matter of fact, "but I can also save him."

That caught their attention.

"How? How could you possibly save our lord?" asked Yang skeptically.

Kuroda smiled like a shark. He extended a closed fist towards the two and then opened it.

"By using this."

The two Arrancar gasped.

In his hand, Kuroda held quite possibly the most powerful object in existence. The object that had allowed the boundaries between Shinigami and Hollow to be dissolved. The object that had created the Vizard and allowed Aizen's rise to power.

Kuroda possessed the Hogyoku.

#

"Captain Kuchiki, Captain Zaraki, and Captain Kurotsuchi," spoke the Captain Commander, then bluntly stated: "you are late."

"Apologies Captain Commander," said Kurotsuchi, "I needed to ensure the security of my specimens. Our trip to Hueco Mundo truly provided me with a great many wonderful opportunities!"

"we also had to secure the enemies base of operations to ensure no threats in Hueco Mundo remained," Captain Kuchiki added in evenly,

"and I wanted to take a nap," finished Kenpachi.

Yamamoto clenched his teeth, "Idiots! We are in a moment of crisis! Do you not realize that the very existence of the world hangs in jeopardy right now?!"

"Keep yelling, I'm sure that will make them figure it out eventually."

Yamamoto whipped around to find Kuroda standing there, his eyes condescending even as blood continued to drip from his body.

"You," growled the Captain Commander,

"Me," replied Kuroda, "I see the last of your dogs have arrived, do you really think they'll be able to make any sort of difference?"

"You underestimate the power of the Gotei 13," Yamamoto spat back,

"Considering that most of the Gotei 13 is either incapacitated or dead, I think I have a fairly good idea what its power is," Kuroda shot back.

"In any case, I'm not here to fight you old man. This has already taken more time than what I would have like and I have more important things to be doing."

"Then why are you here?"

"Only to deliver a message," answered Kuroda. He held up a hand, then put up one finger.

"One month, that's how much time you have. Heal your injured, bury your dead, and build up your defenses. Because in one month, I will attack the Seireitei."

Yamamoto's eyes widened and before he could even respond, Kuroda vanished.

"Wait!"

But the Bloody Shadow was already gone.

"After him!" commanded Yamamoto.

The three Captains disappeared in pursuit.

#

Kuroda reappeared at the Garganta that Yin and Yang had so graciously opened for them.

"You done here?" asked Wicapi,

"The message has been delivered," he replied, "let's leave."

Together, the three of them entered the Garganta just as their three pursuers arrived.

"You're not getting away that easy!" growled Kenpachi as he leapt forward, intent on taking all of them on by himself.

But by the time he reached them, the Garganta had already closed and he only managed to hit the ground it had been hovering over.

"Tch, fucking cowards," he muttered.

#

She felt weightless, like she was floating.

It was dark and she couldn't see.

Yet for some reason, she felt rather comfortable. Like a warm presence was wrapped around her, filling her with positive feelings.

It was nice, she didn't often have moments where she felt like this.

Then she began to hear voices, familiar voices that she couldn't quite pick out amongst her memories.

Then she realized, it wasn't actually dark. She just had her eyes closed.

So she opened them and found the darkness to be replaced by a bright orange.

"Oh! Thank goodness," said a familiar voice, "you're awake!"

Captain Soi Fon of the 2nd Division carefully turned her head to face the voice. She immediately recognized the girl as one of Ichigo Kurosaki's friends, Orihime Inoue as she recalled.

She had been captured by Aizen.

"You?!" questioned Soi Fon weakly, "but, I thought-"

A sudden lance of pain shot up the Captain's body, cutting of whatever she was about to say.

"Please be still," begged the human girl, "I haven't quite finished healing your injuries."

Despite what the girl asked, Soi Fon attempted to sit up anyway, "I don't need…to be coddled by-"

"Being stubborn again?!"

Soi Fon's eyes widened at hearing a voice she would have recognized anywhere.

"Lady Yoruichi!" she quickly attempted to bow but ended up only causing herself more pain.

"It's rude to decline a helping hand Soi Fon," Yoruichi said in a stricter tone than she usually did, "let Orihime heal you, something tells me you'll need your full strength before long."

"I…" Soi Fon almost protested, but thought better of it, "yes Lady Yoruichi, of course."

"Good girl, don't make us strap you down like that one," she said.

"That one?" Soi Fon turned to where Yoruichi gestured and saw the young blonde Vizard with pigtails. She was violently thrashing against kido restraints, screaming at the top of her lungs, "I don't wanna be helped by a human! Let me out! Let me out!"

"Heheh, Hiyori, you're pretty adorable when you're like that," Orihime giggled innocently.

"Huh?! What did you say? Say that to my face bitch! Come over here right now! I saidmmmmfmfmfmfmfmm!"

"Shut up Hiyori," said the blonde haired man next to her, having just stuffed his hat into her mouth, "you scream so loud that I'm gonna lose brain cells, might forget about my first love too."

"MMMFMFMFMFMMMMFF YMOFUMFOSU!" was Hiyori's response to Shinji.

"She's gonna get you after this, you know that right?" asked Love, who himself was lying on the ground.

"Ugh," groaned Shinji, "I'm not too worried about it, I'm a little more worried about Rose. He got hit the worst out of all of us."

Love nodded. The blonde haired Vizard most likely would have been dead had it not been for the combined efforts of Captain Unohana and Orihime.

When she'd arrived with Ichigo, Unohana had sensed that Rose was the most injured out of them. The sword technique that Mitsurugi had used on him, _Senmaioroshi_, had literally put a thousand cuts on the Vizard's body.

Had Unohana not begun tending to him when she did, he most likely would have bled out.

"If I have to be helped…" began Soi Fon, "could it at least be away from them?"

Yoruichi smirked, "Nah, I don't think Orihime's bubble would expand that far. Besides, you might make some new friends."

"What?! B-But, Lady Yoruichi!"

"See ya later," waved the purple haired woman.

"Lady Yoruichi~" Soi Fon cried out rather comically, "don't leave me with them."

Orihime giggled.

As she walked away, Yoruichi silently wished that she could giggle like Orihime did. To feel happy and carefree again, that would truly be a blessing.

"We will stay here," she heard the gentle voice of Unohana say, "until the wounded can be moved."

"Yes ma'am!" said Lieutenant Kotetsu,

"I will personally see to the Captain Commander's injuries, the rest I leave to you."

The Gotei 13 had sustained just as many wounds as the Vizard had. Many of their Captains were a mess, Soi Fon was on the mend and thanks to Orihime would soon have her other arm back.

But the human girl could only do so much at a time.

Ukitake had it the worst, a hole had been punched straight through his chest and it was suspected that his Hakusui and Saketsu had been pierced, meaning that even if he survived he would no longer have the powers of a Shinigami.

In a way, that was almost as bad as being dead.

Shunsui was in pretty bad shape too, despite his relaxed attitude about it he had a great number of injuries that needed to be treated. Kuroda hadn't been very gentle with him and the wounds caused by those shots the Quincy had fired into the Captain seemed to be resisting any attempt at outside healing.

Captain Kurotsuchi, Kenpachi Zaraki, and Byakuya were in the best shape out of everyone. Though only Kurotsuchi was really in any shape to do any fighting.

"To suffer such a defeat like this," she heard the voice of Captain Komamura say, "is beyond humiliating."

"Don't worry about it Captain," said Lieutenant Iba,"the Gotei 13 will bounce back from this and we'll be just as strong as ever!"

Yoruichi wished that she shared the Lieutenant's optimism about their situation.

"I don't need any explaining to. If you haven't told me until now, you must've had a reason," she heard Ichigo say, "that's you're business. Besides, I don't think I'd even know how to ask. You can tell me your reasons on your own time."

"Hehe, that's my boy! Acting all cool and talking smooth! Give your dad a hug-OW!"

"But that doesn't mean I'm not royally pissed at you right now."

It seemed that Ichigo was taking the new about his father better than expected. That was good, things were bad enough without family problems being thrown into the mix.

Eventually she found herself by Kisuke's side, who himself was watching over the other groups, undoubtedly ease dropping on their conversations.

"Hey," he said, when he finally noticed her.

"Hey," she replied back.

"How are you holding up?" he asked gently,

"Honestly?"

"Why not?"

"Absolutely terrible," she said with a tone to match.

Kisuke gave a shallow nod, "I know what you mean."

"It's just…it's not fair. We finally got him back, the real him! The one we grew up with and now he's…he's gone. Replaced with…"

"Our enemy," finished Kisuke, "I know, I wish it wasn't true myself."

"It's all their fault you know," she said in a hushed yet venomous tone.

"Who?"

"Soul Society's, if they hadn't pushed him like they had. If they hadn't made him do those awful things…he wouldn't be like this."

"Maybe, but there's nothing about that we can change right now. Right now we have to stop him, at any cost."

This time it was Yoruichi's turn nod shallowly, "I know, I know, of course I know. But I don't want to, I don't want to fight him again."

"Neither do I Yoruichi, neither do I."

#

"Ugh, what…happened?!"

"Master Tyran!"

"You're alright!"

Tyran recognized the two voices immediately, "yes, I am."

He sat up and immediately realized that he was in familiar sands Hueco Mundo.

"What happened?" he asked, not remembering a thing after being struck down by Kuroda.

"I happened," speak of the devil, Tyran's lips formed a vicious growl as the man who'd swatted him away like a fly stepped forth.

"You!" he roared, without warning he shoved away his fraccion and charged the Bloody Shadow.

Kuroda's foot came right up and before the Cero Espada could even blink, he was lying right back down on the sand with the Bloody Shadow standing over him.

Tyran couldn't even register what had happened until the dust around him finally settled.

"You could not defeat me before in your released state, how much chance do you think you have as half a corpse?"

The Cero Espada ground his teeth in anger and began to rise back up.

"Please Master Tyran," said Yin, holding him back by his right arm.

"He is the one who saved you," said Yang, grabbing him by the left.

"What?!"

"It's true," confirmed Kuroda.

"Why? To toy with me? I will not be you're plaything Shinigami!" Once again Tyran pushed away his fraccion and attack his enemy.

But once again Kuroda dealt with him using minimal effort, this time grabbing him by the neck before slamming him back into the sand. The sheer force of it sent Yin and Yang flying away whilst creating a massive crater in the dunes.

"I suggest you stop doing that, after all, I only want talk."

Tyran spat at Kuroda's feet where the sand had already been drenched with the blood constantly dripping off of his body.

"Talk? You want to talk? Lion's do not talk, they fight and kill, until one of them is left as the leader of the pride."

"Then it's a good thing we aren't lions."

"Kill me or leave me Bloody Shadow, but do not waste time with talk!"

Kuroda's lips formed a smile that sent a surprising shiver down Tyran's spine. Though he did not know the Shinigami well, he knew enough to know that Kuroda rarely ever smiled.

And this smile, it was so full malice. It was not natural.

"This talk will not be a waste of time, I guarantee you."

Kuroda reached out with a closed fist towards Tyran, the Cero Espada cocked an eyebrow in confusion. Then the Bloody Shadow opened his hand to reveal a small blue orb that the Cero Espada recognized immediately.

"The Hogyoku," he whispered, "where did you get it?!"

"I pried it from Aizen's lifeless fingers."

This time Tyran made no move to hide his shock, "Aizen? He's dead?"

"I slaughtered him myself."

Tyran suddenly found that he had nothing to say. He had always planned on betraying Aizen, taking the Hogyoku, and leading the Arrancar himself.

But to have someone else perform the killing blow, it made Tyran feel empty. He had wanted to slice off that arrogant Shinigami's head himself. He had wanted to laude his victory over the man as his broken body lay at the Espada's feet.

Now even that had been deprived from Tyran as were his dreams of becoming the Tyrant of Hueco Mundo.

"Why are you showing me this?" asked Tyran, his demeanor noticeably more sullen, "to gloat? Go ahead, I'd do the same."

"I'm not keeping it Arrancar, I'm giving it to you."

Tyran raised an eyebrow skeptically, "now I know you're toying with me. Why would you give up the single most powerful object in the universe? I know what that thing can do. It does more than dissolve the barriers between Shinigami and Hollow. It has the power to sense it's master's greatest desire and materialize it for them."

"Yes it does, and what do you want Tyran?"

"What do you think?"

Kuroda's smile widened ever so slightly.

"You want to lead your own army of Hollow. You want to rule Hueco Mundo as Aizen once did. You want to prove once and for all your dominance over everyone. But most of all, I think you want another shot and defeating me."

Tyran winced, all had been right on the mark.

"And you were right," continued Kuroda, "the Hogyoku is a most powerful object. It does indeed have the ability to materialize your deepest desires, provided it accepts you as its master."

Kuroda stared into the small blue orb as though he'd found the most beautiful and precious thing in the universe. Then suddenly he tossed it to the sand at Tyran's feet.

"But it is of no use to me."

Tyran looked at the Hogyoku then at Kuroda with wide eyes as if expecting to snap out of this hallucination any second now.

But he did not, this was all very real. Once again he looked at the Hogyoku then back to Kuroda.

He began to reach for the small blue orb. Hesitantly at first then faster, just as he was about to grab it his hand recoiled as though burned.

Tyran clenched his hand into a fist.

This time without any hesitation he snatched it away along with a handful of sand.

Opening his hand, he brought it closer to his eyes to ensure that it was indeed real.

It was.

But Tyran was no fool, he turned back to the Bloody Shadow who was clearly amused with Tyran's antics.

"Why?" he asked, simply and bluntly.

"Because I want you to lead an Arrancar army, I want you to become a Tyrant of Hueco Mundo, and when you have, I want you to lead your kingdom against Soul Society."

"Lead an army? Against Soul Society? Why? Because you cannot do it on your own?"

Kuroda's anger flared, causing a massive gust of wind to burst out and disrupt the sands.

"Careful where you tread Arrancar, I once assaulted the very gates of Heaven itself alone and broke them down. But no, I do not wish to attack Soul Society this time. My goals are…more complicated."

Tyran studied Kuroda for a moment, running everything he was learning through his mind until finally he reached an answer to his questions.

"Ah, I see. While we would appear as an army and the main force of the attack, in truth we would be nothing more than a distraction."

Kuroda snorted in amusement, "You're not as dumb as you look."

Ignoring the underhanded jab, Tyran continued to ask, "But a distraction for what I wonder?"

"That is none of your concern," replied Kuroda, "what is your concern is finding the appropriate Hollow for your new army. I understand you've been planning for this moment for some time now. I will assume then that you can do it."

"And if I refuse to play this little game of yours?" challenged the Espada.

"Then I kill you and find someone more willing," Kuroda replied evenly, "however, do this for me and before the end comes, I will give you your chance to fight me once more."

That brought a true smile to Tyran's face.

"Then you shall have your army."

**End**

**So yeah, new chapter!**

**Regrettably a bit on the shorter side of most of my chapters but I felt like this was a good place to cut it off. **

**So yeah, battle of Karakura is now over. You didn't think I was just gonna let this whole thing end right there did you? No, my dear readers, what I have planned out is a full scale war!**

**For those of you who are worried that Kuroda is turning into Aizen, he isn't. He just gave away the Hogyoku, which is something Aizen would have never done.**

**And unlike Aizen he will be getting his hands dirty.**

**I don't want to get too much into what I have planned otherwise it'll turn into full on spoilers.**

**Anyway, you'll just have to wait for the next chapter to find out what will be happening. For those of you worried about the whole, "one month", thing don't worry, I won't be spending too much time on this period.**

**I want to get into the action stuff as much as all of you do.**

**So please leave a review, subscribe to get notifications on the newest chapters, and tell your friends about it.**

**Bye bye!**


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Bleach, Adventure, Romance